Then I Found You
by SereneMelodies
Summary: Nov 24th: ch 5 up! Aomine doesn't believe in love. He just doesn't think it's possible. But when he meets a certain light blue haired student, he realizes that some things just can't be rationalized. College AU setting, rated T for language. May be bumped up later. AoKuro, and other side couples included.
1. Chapter 1

**Then I Found You**

**Dedicated to Tess-chan :D I hope you enjoy it!  
**

**Author's Note: **Hi everyone! This is my first ever Kuroko no Basuke fic. It takes place in a college AU setting and the rating will probably be changed to M but it is T for now. Tell me if/how you like it! Reviews are greatly appreciated (like, A LOT! XD They keep me going when I'm having writer's block).

**Warnings (more like things you should just know): **It might be a little (a lot) fluffy. And dramatic. And OOC. And fast-paced. There's swearing/cursing. I'm terrible with basketball, but I tried my best. Less plot based than relationship based (no _huge_ storyline here, more like slice of life kind of). Heavily romance and friendship based. Generation of Miracles are a tight group of friends – IT'S AU!

Also, I just recently joined this fandom, pretty much, so I'm a newb :D Bear with me

*runs away from embarrassment but leaves you this chapter anyways*

* * *

_Chapter 1 - In which Kuroko makes his first appearance in Aomine's life  
_

* * *

Lust. A fairly simple thing to understand. After all, a healthy nineteen-year-old male should be well acquainted with the feeling. Not an emotion, just something that humans – all animals, if one really thought about it – had. An appetite to be appeased. All in all, a very easy concept. For someone like him, to be honest, it just took a couple magazines or videos with some sexy women in erotic poses to turn him on. Or maybe even men. None of that really mattered, he supposed, though he'd never watched or read anything gay before. The body wanted what the body wanted, simple as that. He was fine with his sexuality, fine with talking about it, comfortable in his own skin. He wasn't particularly proud of his non-virgin state like some other douche bags out there; rather, whatever relieved his needs was just…fine. He never got attached to his affairs, most of them being one night stands since clingy people irritated him.

It wasn't like sex wasn't fun or pleasurable, because it was. It just…

What he didn't understand was why he felt rather… _empty_ inside at times. He never felt the same way that some others claimed to feel towards him. Girls (and to be honest, sometimes guys) told him they loved him, that they hated him when he said he didn't love them back, that they couldn't live without him when he tried to end things. Was that really what love was all about? Because he had never gone through such a thing. He wondered if that meant he would keep this kind of hollow feeling forever.

Some of his friends were utter fools when it came to the supposed matters of the heart. Or was he the fool? For one, Kise was always dating, always trying to find the right person. But for what? He didn't believe in that foolish thing called love. He would never experience it. Just thinking about it was rather disturbing.

Why was he even thinking about all this anyway? He didn't really know. He should be focused on his report, but these thoughts kept popping up more and more frequently lately at totally random times. Like now. He couldn't really afford to waste so much time.

How did one even separate lust from love anyway?

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

Uncharacteristically startled, he dropped the pen he had been twirling around between his nimble fingers and grabbed his phone. Glancing at the ID, he grimaced. Speak of the devil. He made a face before answering the phone when –

"Aominecchi! Stop spacing out and hurry up~!" his blond friend's cheerful voice rang loudly in his ears, effectively smashing his train of strange thoughts into pieces. "I'm right outside your door, you know. You're already ten minutes late."

"Oi, oi." He sighed, giving up on trying to do any more work for the day. "You're such a creep, Kise. What difference does a couple minutes make anyway?"

"There's only so long anyone can wait for you, slowpoke."

"Why are you even on the phone? You could have just knocked or something." Aomine pulled on a random t-shirt and shoved on a wrinkled pair of jeans after tossing his phone on the bed. His report would have to wait.

"Open the door then!" Kise's voice was still loud and clear, to his annoyance.

With another sigh, Aomine walked over to the door and unlocked it, only to have Kise spring into his room faster than a normal person should be able to. He ran a hand through his navy blue hair and leaned against the wall as his blond friend looked around, jumping onto the bed to sit like a little kid.

He wasn't surprised that Kise was dressed formally. For some reason, his friend loved putting himself into uncomfortable suits and non-casual articles of clothing. If he wanted to play basketball in that, who was Aomine to complain? But did he really have to go around looking like a model just because he was? It almost made him feel awkward in Kise's seemingly glowing presence. Then again, Kise was just that kind of person.

"I still can't believe you got a single. We all got doubles but you," Kise pouted, admiring the spacious dorm room. For all the space he had, though, Aomine only kept the bare essentials. A desk, a bed, some drawers, a bookshelf. A bachelor pad of sorts.

He shrugged. "Apparently it's their idea of a reward."

"It's not a bad thing, you know. And you have a _way_ bigger bed," Kise teased, laughing. "Something you need more than others, I guess."

"Don't be stupid, you pervert."

"Fine, fine. Though I wouldn't say _I'm_ the pervert between the two of us. But enough about that, right? Let's go play." He picked up the basketball from the floor and began twirling it around his pointer finger, a cocky grin on his face. Aomine grunted and followed his blond friend out, locking the door behind him with a key. Within several minutes, they exited the dorm building and headed over to the outdoor basketball court.

"Ne, Aominecchi, how do you like college life?" Kise asked easily, passing him the ball.

"We just started our first fall term a couple weeks ago. How the hell should I know?" he retorted, catching the basketball easily and running past to shoot. _Swish_. The ball fell through the net with perfect precision as expected.

"Tch. Excuse me for wanting to talk to you. It's hard enough already to find something you'll actually talk about. You know, I've barely seen you all summer but you're still the same cold person you used to be," Kise pouted, taking the ball back and scoring his own shoot.

"What, you expected me to go through a personality change in a couple months?" Aomine snorted. "You're still the same too."

"Really? You're not going to say I improved in basketball, or got more handsome, or smarter, or cooler, huh."

Aomine couldn't help but chuckle at the ridiculousness that was Kise Ryota. "You really want a compliment that badly?"

"No. Well, maybe," Kise grinned, barely managing to prevent Aomine from taking his shot…or so it seemed. "Whew, did I just block you-"

"You wish," he grinned, fading away and still getting the ball in the hoop. The rush of adrenaline never failed to put him in a better mood. He definitely had to play with his old high school friends to get this kind of feeling, since most people were just not good enough. "You're a hundred years too early to stop me."

"And you're going to trip if you don't tie your shoes properly, Ahominecchi."

"Don't call me that." Grumbling, Aomine walked over to the bench and plopped down, yanking on his shoelaces.

But even this basketball game wasn't helping him much. His mind was still wandering all over the place.

What was fuck was he missing? This feeling was just so damned disturbing. His one true love, if it could be called that, was basketball. It was how he'd gotten into college in the first place with a full ride, how he'd gotten one of the best dorm rooms, how he had ended up at Teiko University, the most elite college in the country. But even then…

He cursed.

"Are you having trouble with girls or something?" Kise laughed at Aomine's sudden loss of composure and shouted, "How long does it take to tie your shoes? Or are you that worn out after a little game with me?"

Aomine merely grunted and quickly retied his right shoe, not bothering to respond verbally. In actuality, Kise was the reason why he had begun to question how he treated people and relationships in the first place. Frankly, he didn't like thinking about that at all. Damn him.

He shook his head and ran back out to the court to rejoin his friend. He didn't want to worry about all that anymore…and yet he couldn't stop himself from constantly brooding about it.

He snorted. What girly thoughts to have. He expected better of himself. He was too old, too _masculine_ to have to think about stupid things like love. That word was meant for girls, feminine people. Maybe he was too cynical but no matter how hard he tried to believe it, there just couldn't possibly be something that could feel that way.

To him, true love didn't exist. It had to be an emotion people exaggerated about. Made up so they could create unnecessary drama, to bring some excitement into lives that were dull.

His life wasn't boring. His life was perfectly fine the way it was. He was busy with work, busy with basketball, busy with…

Love? Yeah. No. More like busy with sex. And that was more than okay with him.

He snorted. He didn't need that, didn't need love. Rainbows and unicorns and sunshine and happy days, was it? From what he could figure out from that elusive emotion, it caused more mental and sometime physical pain than anything else. Nothing in the world worked out perfectly, and neither would love. People grew apart, people fought…people got hurt. They hurt each other and they hurt themselves. What was the point of investing all your feelings into something as fickle as a person?

Basketball always had risks, like any other sport. Getting hurt, overworking your body, all of that. But love was just a mindless gamble. One might get their heart shattered to pieces for nothing in return.

No. He didn't believe in love. He refused to.

[~ * ~]

**An hour later…**

"Hmph. I really don't like one-on-one games with you," Kise grinned, panting slightly and dribbling the ball. "You're too good to play against."

"Heh, that's your problem. You're the one who wanted to play in the first place. I have a report due for chem in less than a week, so if you're going to complain-"

"No, no! Sheesh…"

"That's what I thought," Aomine smirked. To his surprise, however, Kise suddenly stopped, straightening out from his crouched position to stand. A sheepish smile settled on the blond's face as he kept the ball still at his side. He fidgeted with his shirtsleeves as he wiped his sweat away.

"What." Aomine frowned, swiping his hand across his forehead and down his jaw. Kise really had gotten a little better if it took him this much effort to double his score.

"Actually…I wanted to take you out for lunch, and before you complain, I managed to get the rest of us to come too, so you can't not come!" Kise straightened out the collar to his button-down shirt and grinned persuasively. "Come on, Aominecchi. It'll be a nice break from all your studying."

He sighed. He should have seen something like this coming, knowing Kise had a tendency to want to take up a person's entire day. "A reunion, huh? That's not too terrible an idea, considering it's coming from you. Though I did just take an hour's worth of break with you just now."

"You're so mean!" Kise whined. Aomine felt the corners of his lips jerk upwards as he watched his friend pretend to run away. Then the blond quickly turned around and said, "I'll race you!"

"Oi, how old are you…" Aomine muttered under his breath. He followed his overly exuberant friend with slightly fraying patience and eventually, they arrived at the intended restaurant. Kise flung the door open and stepped in, motioning him to go faster. The moment he entered the place, he heard the familiar voices call out to him.

"Daiki, you take too long. As always. And you're sweaty. Wait, you're sweaty from a game with just Kise? How low have your skills and stamina fallen…"

"Mine-chin, how have you been? Come join us."

"Aomine, long time no see. You're dressed like a slob. Why am I not surprised?"

He couldn't help but smirk at the sight of his close high school friends gathered around the table. They were as strange and unfriendly he remembered. Grabbing a chair, he sat down near his purple-haired friend, Murasakibara, who was already starting with his own personal dessert. Aomine grinned. "Well it sounds like you guys haven't changed much. How have you all been?"

"Busy. Computer science and engineering is more difficult than I originally anticipated," Midorima responded immediately, pushing up his glasses and sipping at his glass of water, a calculator in his left hand. "But I'm having a lot of fun. It's much better and more challenging than high school. Very enjoyable."

"Geek," Aomine sneered. "Why am I not surprised? Even your lucky item is as dorky as you are."

"You're the one taking chemistry," Midorima shrugged, not bothered in the slightest. "You're the bigger geek."

"Now, now, children, calm down," Akashi said, sounding bored. "Why the fuck are we talking about school at a time like this?"

"Akashicchi, don't be mean. Such harsh words when we finally all gathered together," Kise laughed, flinging an arm around him. Akashi glared at him and Kise pouted, still not letting go. The redhead grimaced.

"It must suck to be short, having everyone wrap their arm around you," Murasakibara teased, taking a large bite of what seemed to be cake. On a stick.

"Shut it. At least I don't hit my head trying to go through a door," Akashi snarled, his heterochromatic eyes flashing.

"Don't let him get to you, Akachan*," Kise whispered loudly. "I mean, Akashicchi~"

"Ryota…I'm going to kill you."

Aomine barely held his sigh back, just watching them bicker. He'd been doing that a little too often lately and he didn't want any of his old friends to see him like this. He'd never had these ridiculous thoughts back then. The last thing he needed was to have to be defensive towards them.

Maybe he needed to find a girlfriend. Anything to just keep his mind off things. But the thing was, he didn't find girls particularly good for anything other than sex. It wasn't that he didn't like them or that he was sexist, because he wasn't. Some girls were much, _much _better than guys. The problem was that there was just nothing _special_ about any of them. Was it because he hadn't found the right one?

He scoffed at his thoughts. That was absurd. Momoi had been the closest thing to an ideal girl but he couldn't really claim to love her. What he felt were _true_ things, like respect or admiration. That's what he felt for her too, both as a childhood friend and a fully developed woman. Love just simply…

Could not exist. It was a mere human folly.

Why did he have to keep convincing himself? Was he actually desperate for it? What did he know at his age? Very little, probably…

"Excuse me, would you like to order something?"

He turned to the right where the small sound was coming from, only to see a pair of intensely blue eyes calmly staring back.

"Holy shit, where did you come from?" Aomine twitched in surprise, his eyes widening. He stared at the little boy who stood serenely near him, clearly a waiter from what he could tell from the uniform. Light blue hair framed a small face which led to a slender, small stature…hell, the kid was just _small _in general. Everything about him was practically prepubescent. The kid clutched several menus to his chest, blinking slowly. It was almost like the waiter was almost invisible, with such a lacking presence, such a weak aura. He was completely underage in every physical aspect, other than the fact that those blue eyes seemed to pierce straight through things, Aomine himself included.

He willed his body to calm down from the shock of being taken off guard, his eyes automatically analyzing the smaller guy. The sky blue-haired kid looked like he was, at maximum, a high schooler. With arms so slim and hands so tiny, it was a wonder the boy could carry anything bigger than a single cup. In fact, he had more of a womanly build than anything else, though of course he was flat-chested. As he should be.

Aomine shook his head. What was he thinking? He was going crazy.

"I was standing here the entire time but no one seemed to be ready to order anything so I thought I'd wait. But I don't think I'm allowed to stay at a table for too long. You were the only one not talking to anyone." The voice was soft but straightforward, not shy like Aomine had expected. The menus were set down on the table and the young waiter took out a pen and notepad. "So, would you like to order something?"

"How tall are you?" Aomine blurted without thinking, unsure why he couldn't tear his eyes away from the small figure that commanded his attention, even while it shouldn't have.

"Well, I'm 168. What does that have to do with anything?"

The kid was a full twenty four centimeters shorter than him and about half his size in bulk and width. He wanted to laugh. Something about the boy was just so…he didn't really know how to describe it. When Aomine looked back at him, he saw a confused but rather blank expression, so he just quickly muttered, "Ah, just get me…just get me today's lunch special."

He didn't know if he liked this feeling. Was he feeling _lust_ for the boy? He didn't really know. There wasn't even anything particularly attractive about the small waiter. And yet…

Aomine looked away, uncomfortable. He was overthinking this.

"Got it. Anyone else?" the waiter mumbled, interrupting his chaotic thoughts.

The rest of the group finally quieted down enough to notice the waiter standing quietly to himself. To Aomine's disbelief, however, Kise shot out of his seat looking stunned. "Is that you, Kurokocchi?"

"Kurokocchi?" Akashi repeated, frowning. Then he chuckled as some sort of understanding seemed to dawn on his face. "You can't be Tetsuya?"

"Ah, Kuro-chin, it is you! You haven't changed at all," Murasakibara added. "Why am I not surprised no one noticed you?"

"Who is this?" Midorima asked bluntly.

"My name is Kuroko Tetsuya and I'm your waiter for this afternoon," the boy said politely, handing out the menus as if nothing had happened, with a completely unperturbed look on his face.

"How do you guys know Kurokocchi?" Kise asked, dumbfounded, rather like the way Aomine was feeling at the moment.

"Kise-chin, just give Kuro-chin a break and order something," Murasakibara mumbled, still munching. "He's probably been standing there a while."

Akashi smiled, a sight that was still a little disturbing for most, rendering Kise practically speechless. "Tetsuya, this is one of your part-time job areas? I didn't know that. Oh, just some tofu soup for me."

"This place is near my house," Kuroko shrugged, jotting down a quick note. "Anyone else?"

"What dessert do you recommend?"

"Raspberry vanilla torte."

"Then I'd like that," Murasakibara said decisively.

"Ah, you must be a middle school friend of theirs," Midorima said, pushing his glasses up calmly. "Today, I will have something spicy so, perhaps, steak with jalapeño sauce."

"Got it. And Kise-kun? Did you want anything?"

"I wanna talk to you, Kurokocchi…and a lunch special," Kise pouted.

"Well, my shift ends soon, but I'll have to go straight to my next job. You have my number so just call me if that's necessary," Kuroko said quietly, picking the menus back up. "Would anyone like anything to drink?"

"Water for all of us," Akashi answered softly.

"Got it. I'll be back." And with that, the small waiter was gone.

"Who was that? Explain properly," Aomine demanded, finding himself staring at the empty space that Kuroko – was that his name? – used to occupy a mere second ago. What was with that anyway? All of his friends had such strong presences, one that made people's head turn. That wasn't necessarily because they were particularly good-looking, though Kise was clearly an exception. They were used to commanding the attention of the room, especially together as a group, which was why half the restaurant was staring at them (forgetting the fact that he was wearing extremely casual clothes in a relatively formal place). But this kid…

He hadn't even noticed him near and that was something else.

Akashi grinned. "Why, are you interested? That's surprising, Daiki. He looks _far, far_ from your ideal type."

"Just answer me. It's kind of unnerving to have a waiter suddenly appear at your side, only to have practically all your friends know him," Aomine said defensively. "Midorima and I were in the dark."

"No, only you are at the moment. Didn't you hear me guess and get it right? He's their old friend," Midorima said in a tone so condescending that Aomine clenched his teeth together in irritation.

_This guy…_

Aomine gulped down his water to try and cool himself down when –

"I went out with him only a little while ago."

He choked on his water at Kise's cheerful expression, nearly spraying it over the table. "That kid?! Wait, why the hell do you look so damned happy about it?"

"Well, we had the same ideas about what we were looking for in a person but we found out we just weren't really compatible for each other in a love kind of way. I still consider him a close friend," Kise said matter-of-factly. "He's really cute and pretty good at basketball."

"I'm surprised he was willing to go out with someone like you," Midorima interjected with a slight smile.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean! I'm a nice guy." Kise finally sat back down, arms crossed.

"Well, I just played basketball with him in middle school. He's quiet but talented…in an interesting way," Akashi added. "Murasakibara here used to be friends with him too but they had something of a fallout because of basketball, isn't that right?"

"Well, he's a cool guy. I don't mind talking to him, if it's not about basketball. We just can't talk about it without arguing. But yeah, other than that, it's good."

Aomine leaned back in his chair casually, absorbing the information easily. He toyed with a napkin as he stared directly at his brightly smiling friend. "Kise…are you a pedophile?"

"Of course not!" Kise frowned. "What makes you think that?"

"The kid looks like he's fifteen or something."

At that, the blond's lips twitched before he burst into laughter. "Aominecchi, who do you take me for? Of course, I wouldn't date someone that young. He's our age."

Aomine's eyes bulged. That wimp of a kid was nineteen?!

"You should see your face, Daiki." Akashi's small laugh grated on his nerves.

Midorima sighed. "Aomine, I get that you got your college scholarship through basketball, but what the hell did you think it meant when Akashi said he played with him in middle school?"

"Smart ass," Aomine muttered, feeling his face turn hot. It was a good thing he had dark skin.

But he had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that the kid was damned cute for a college student. He must go to Seirin University then, considering he hadn't seen him around Teiko – a relatively small but still the top tier school – anywhere.

"Excuse me, but your meal is here." Kuroko's voice barely managed to catch the table's attention. Aomine looked to the right of him to find no one there.

"Um, I'm on your left this time," Kuroko said, sounding rather weak. When Aomine glanced to the left, he saw Kuroko's shaking arms trying to support the weight of the tray with five meals on top of it plus glasses of water, the boy's face almost invisible.

"Oi, oi, why are you a waiter if you don't even have the strength to carry anything?" Aomine said more callously than he intended. For a moment he was afraid the boy – or rather, Kuroko – would be offended and he was about to apologize when Kuroko spoke, utterly unbothered.

"Because this job pays the best."

Aomine's jaw dropped. Was this kid serious? He wondered if Kuroko was hard pressed for money. At least that would explain why Kuroko was so damned skinny.

Before he knew what he was doing, he stood up and took the tray from him. Kuroko looked up at him, blinking in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Just hand everyone a plate and get the cups after that," Aomine mumbled, he himself not sure of why he had bothered to help. The small kid at his side simply nodded.

"Well, thank you," Kuroko said quietly, passing each person their respective dishes with a glass of water. Aomine tried to ignore his friends' stares. After the five plates were set down, Kuroko said, "Have a nice meal, everyone."

He took back the tray, their hands meeting briefly. Aomine's eyes widened as he felt how cold Kuroko's hand was but said nothing as, with a slight bow, Kuroko tried to go back to the kitchen…

Only to trip over Murasakibara's ridiculously long leg, stretched out at the side of the table.

"Ah-" The soft gasp of surprise was hardly audible but Aomine caught him easily, his long arms wrapping around the small body, as Kuroko tried to regain his balance. The kid's face was buried against his chest as he fell against Aomine's large frame, clutching his waist for support.

_What…what is this?_

Amine felt his heart thud heavily, uncomfortably, in his chest as Kuroko's body pressed against him completely. A faint smell of something like vanilla wafted up to his nose from the kid's hair and Aomine felt his racing pulse. They stayed frozen for all of a second, before Kuroko's arms unwrapped themselves from his waist.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Kuroko mumbled, quickly putting himself upright and bowing slightly. "Thank you."

"It's…nothing," Aomine said gruffly, sitting back down, ignoring the sudden rush of feelings that threatened to overwhelm him. He didn't know what was happening, but he decided to shrug it off, play it cool, the way he always did. "Take care."

But the waiter had already vanished.

A stunned silence settled over the table until Akashi's soft, disconcerting laughter snapped them all out of it.

"Aominecchi, do you like him?" Kise asked in disbelief. "Oh my-"

"Wow, Daiki, I'm surprised. And here I thought you'd find someone like Momoi. You are such an _interesting _person. Imagine that…"

"Even a person like you is capable of falling in love at first sight," Midorima said, jaw hanging open, so taken aback that his glasses had fallen to the table. He quickly rammed it back on his face and tried to regain his composure. "Well, it did happen to be a good day for Virgos…"

"How would you know? Did you check for Aominecchi?" Kise laughed. "Are you in love with him? How scandalous-"

"Kise, shut up," Midorima muttered, cutting a piece of his steak and putting it into his mouth, chewing slowly. Not even a hint of a blush was on his face. After he swallowed, he touched his glasses again, pushing them up despite the fact that they were perfectly in place. "I happen to check for everyone around me. You should know that just as well as I do. Why should I spend any time with unlucky people?"

"You take your horoscopes too seriously," Kise pouted and Midorima sighed.

Aomine ignored them all, attacking his meal with relish instead. It turned out to be a burger of some sort, so he began scarfing it down.

He himself didn't know what he was feeling. It wasn't quite lust, since it didn't seem to have anything to do with physical attraction. Was it just shock from seeing someone so far from his ideal? But that didn't really explain anything. If he had to be perfectly honest, what he was used to was getting hard from meeting someone at first, having sex with them once, and if it was good, having more. He definitely believed in lust at first sight…but love?

This was so damned confusing. You couldn't just _stumble_ on to the person that you supposedly loved. There had to be something developed first, right? It didn't just pop out of nowhere…

But what did he know about love? He didn't believe in it…

"You'll choke if you eat that fast."

At that, Aomine really did and he hit himself in the chest, fighting for breath. He reached for his water and chugged it. Turning to the right where the voice was coming from, he was about to yell "What the fuck?" but found that the words died in his throat at the sight of the calm face slightly blushing.

"Sorry. The manager told me to give you this because you helped me and you shouldn't have," Kuroko said softly, handing him a large bowl of ice cream.

"Why would you tell him that I did?" Aomine finally gasped out.

"I didn't. He was watching me," Kuroko said simply. "He was going to help me but he had to take care of something else so…thank you."

"Were you going to kill me in the process of showing your gratitude?" Aomine sighed.

"But…I was standing here," Kuroko said, his tone of voice turning surprisingly irritated. "What can I do if you won't look at me?"

Aomine blinked. Why did that sound so…

_Why did that sound so cute?_

He grimaced as he felt the stares of all four of his friends on him. "Well, thanks for the ice cream. And you're welcome, though I didn't do much."

To his surprise, the kid seemed to turn a little redder as he said so softly that only Aomine could hear. "I also wanted to say thanks…for catching me."

Aomine was rendered speechless as Kuroko, who was no longer in his uniform, quickly headed out the door and was gone before anyone could tell him to wait.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well how was it? *anxious about how people think about it*

In my defense, Aomine was adorable before basketball ruined his personality! Plus, it _is_ AU, so…*shrugs apologetically* And while it isn't _quite _love at first sight or anything, it might get fast paced (I tend to write that way, gomen!) Well I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.

*slight play on Akashi's name: akachan is Japanese for baby XD

**If you have any requests for KuroBasu fics/oneshots, feel free to send me a PM with a prompt (or genre, you can be as specific as you like), rating (basically smut or no), characters involved (who's seme, who's uke, lol), and any other details you want me to include.**

**-lots of love, Serena  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **WOW! I am so thankful for all of your reviews, favorites, and follows! Hontou ni! *bows down in gratitude* I can't even begin to describe how glad I am that people are enjoying this.

I would also like to mention that my fanfic does focus heavily on inner monologues, at least for the beginning, because…I guess that's how I write T3T It's my attempt to slow this story down a little bit. So you can expect a lot of insight into people's character without a lot happening at once.

Hope you enjoy this second chapter~

**Then I Found You**

* * *

_Chapter 2 – In which Aomine finds himself utterly confused_

_(Also in which Midorima questions horoscope compatibility)_

* * *

Aomine had barely managed to finish his chemistry report in time. His class had taken practically all day and he returned to his dorm less than half an hour ago, wanting to play basketball but having no strength to do so. Sitting down at his desk, he took out the thick packet of worksheets he had just been assigned by the demonic professor, exhausted by the course's fast pace. But he liked the class's material, so he couldn't really complain. Carelessly, he stripped his shirt off and flung it onto his bed, keeping his jeans on but feeling too lazy to fully change into more comfortable clothes. He stared down at the problem.

_Question 1: Explain why arachidonic acid has a much lower melting point compared to linolenic acid, even though it contains two more carbon atoms._

He groaned, his brain feeling utterly fried. He might as well give up on trying to study any more for today. If he had to cram any more organic chemistry into his head, he would explode. Not that he didn't know the answer to the question, because he did. But even his fingers were too lazy to properly grip a writing utensil, so he put his packet and pen to the side, clearing his desk.

Sigh. Only 9 PM, not a single question answered (it was…in his head), and he was already feeling dead. A once-a-week class shouldn't be able to take such a toll on him and yet it left him feeling like this. He could only be glad that he had no classes tomorrow, though he had something or other due in his Japanese class a couple days later.

He rubbed his face in weariness and leaned back into his chair, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts wandered over to the boy he had met a week and a half ago, Kuroko Tetsuya, something that had been happening disconcertingly often lately. He didn't know why he was still thinking about the slim, sky blue-haired waiter boy who had blushed so cutely while thanking him…

Aomine felt his cheeks getting red. Well, yes, he thought Kuroko was cute. In a very childish way, yes, but still cute. There. So he admitted it. That didn't mean he had to _like_ the kid, and it was _far_ from being in love with the kid. And like he said, love didn't exist, so this had to be just a temporary…obsession of sorts.

No, indeed. The reason why Kuroko Tetsuya lingered on his mind had to be because the kid was unique, since nothing about him particularly aroused Aomine at first glance the way other people did sometimes. It wasn't that kind of attraction, so it wasn't like he felt _lust_ towards him. It was just that no one had taken him off guard so effectively before, multiples times to boot. A person wouldn't forget about someone like that, would they? Kuroko had literally popped out of nowhere. Besides, it couldn't be _wrong_ to keep thinking about someone because they were interesting. Plus, Kise went out with the kid, so he had to admit it piqued his curiosity a little. What had Kise said again? Something about how they were looking for the same kind of thing in a person…

He blinked, his thoughts going jumping from place to place, scattering into a million different directions. But he couldn't help but to wonder…

Did that mean Kuroko was often overlooked, considering his weak presence? That had to be a little lonely at times, right? He couldn't imagine what that would feel like, since he was the recipient of a lot of attention whether he wanted it or not. Not to mention Kuroko had sounded rather sad as he asked what he was supposed to do when Aomine wouldn't look at him…did he have to go through that a lot? And Kuroko was working at a place just for the pay. Was he poor? Living alone? Supporting someone, perhaps his family?

Aomine shook his head. What was the point of being worried about a stranger? And yet, he couldn't exactly explain why the Kuroko had been swimming around in his thoughts for the last seven days. It's not like he needed to be so distracted during class by the small kid, but he was anyway.

If he had to be honest with himself, he wanted to see him again, get to talk to the boy. He had gone back to the restaurant yesterday in hopes that Kuroko would be there, but it hadn't been his shift, according to the manager. It was almost getting to the point that he wondered if he should get a part-time job there himself.

Which was _crazy._ He mentally kicked himself and yawned. He blinked, his eyelids feeling heavy. Clearly, he was thinking a bunch of nonsense, otherwise he'd never have these kinds of thoughts.

He snorted. His friends had made fun of him so much after Kuroko had disappeared that day. Midorima, the asshole, had continued to talk about their fate or destiny or whatever crap through his horoscope predictions and whatnot, while Kise had crowed on and on about something or other. Akashi had been the same condescending, sanctimonious person, but even Murasakibara had interjected with his unrestrained honesty about how Aomine finally met his match. It was all something he should have expected anyway, knowing how all of them were like. He couldn't help it if he didn't want to see them any time soon, the idiots.

He knew that they all were just fascinated by his philosophy with love, or rather in the fact that he didn't believe it existed. None of them were afraid to talk about it and in fact that they were all pretty honest when it came to their feelings, because they were close friends, even if they didn't always act like it. And it looked like they were determined to prove him wrong, that love in fact did exist. Hence the nonstop teasing.

Argh…speaking of which…basketball. He had to attend the first official basketball practice game with the Teiko's team tomorrow against some other so-so team, but he wanted to skip. He might have been excited for it, if he didn't already know that his friends had all joined as well. Just the idea of facing them again…

Kise…Kise had Kuroko's number, right? Why didn't he think of it earlier? All he had to do was text Kise for it…

Just then, Aomine leaned a little too far backwards and nearly lost his balance, the rush of adrenaline finally clearing the mess of thoughts in his brain.

"Shit," he muttered, his heart racing. That had been too close for comfort.

And he was a total idiot. How would _he _feel if someone were to somehow get his number and start texting or calling him? He'd probably think it was a stalker and be more than a little freaked out.

Even while he was thinking this to himself, his hands reached for his phone and automatically sent a text to Kise, sending it before he could stop his fingers from typing the message.

Well, shit.

[~ * ~]

"I love you~"

_Thump._

"You love me~"

_Thump._

"We're all one big family~"

_Thump._

"With a great big hug-"

_THUMP._

"Shut up, Kise."

"-and a kiss from me to you~"

_THUMP!_

"Kise! You're going to break it. Or yourself somehow."

The muscles in Midorima's forehead twitched as he forcefully shoved the glasses back on his face. He spun his chair around and sighed as he saw Kise jumping up and down on the trampoline that he had bought on a whim. "Can you please stop singing. And you're much too heavy for that little thing to handle. I'm just going to laugh at you if you fall straight through it."

"Don't be mean, Midorimacchi~"

Midorima's eyebrow jerked upwards.

"I can't help it," Kise shrugged. "When I'm bored, I sing. You know that. Where was I?"

Midorima didn't answer. The blond laughed. "Oh. Won't you say you love me too~"

_Thump._

That was starting to sound like a headache. Like the headache now pulsing near his temple.

Yes, unfortunately he _did_ know of Kise's strange habits. It wasn't that Kise was particularly bad at singing, because he was actually quite good. Plus, he took a lot of music related classes and seemed to enjoy it a lot. But the problem was that he had his biology project due tomorrow and Kise didn't have anything until next week. "And you just have to sing something so childish so loudly?"

He knew Kise was pouting even as he pored over his papers and didn't actually look at the immature blond. He sighed again, his taped fingers twitching.

It was just his luck that he got stuck with Kise out of all his friends to dorm with.

Before he had actually lived with the guy, he had assumed Kise was just one of those guys who acted hyper in front of people in an utterly – pardon the rude stereotyping – _gay_ manner. He seemed happy and cheerful all the time, minus those _very_ few exceptions where he actually got serious (like when he was playing basketball). So Midorima had thought maybe he'd let his guard down or have a different personality when he was alone at home. Perhaps the cheeriness would wear thin, since Midorima believed it took a lot of conscious effort to be that way. But for the last couple weeks as he lived with him, he realized Kise never really took any sort of "break" from being chipper and perky all the time.

Which left _him_ feeling exhausted instead. He couldn't keep up with him most the time.

Originally, he and Akashi were supposed to dorm together, but Akashi had wanted to switch with Kise. In general, a Sagittarius wasn't exactly compatible with a Cancer like him, so it hadn't mattered much to him when Akashi went to dorm with Murasakibara instead.

Then Midorima had realized that Kise was a _Gemini._ And everything else made sense, because his personality matched Gemini _exactly_. Taking most things lightly, being witty and clever, friendly to everyone – almost too much so…it was something he should have guessed.

A Gemini was usually the worst match for a Cancer and a lot of things had to be overcome to maintain a friendship. Their horoscopes were complete opposites in practically every way possible. So living together should have been that much worse. But in all honesty, things weren't as bad as he had been expecting them to be. Which just made him slightly doubt his knowledge of horoscopes. But he was sure there was some sort of explanation out there.

_Vrrrrt. Vrrrrt._

At the sound of the vibrating phone, Midorima snapped out of his thoughts and returned his attention back to his project, only to have Kise laugh so hard and so loudly he jabbed himself in the hand with his pen out of surprise. He grimaced and turned around to glare at the fool he called a friend, only to see the bright expression on his face.

The idiot practically _glowed._ He was _sparkling, _like some scene in a shojo manga_. _Not that Midorima had ever read any. But he imagined it to go something like that. He coughed, not entirely sure why his mouth went dry. He focused on wiping away the ink from his hand instead and muttered, "What do you want now?"

"Aominecchi is so cute," Kise chuckled. "Read this text he sent me!"

Kise tossed him the phone and he caught it easily.

_Give me that waiter boy's number. It's not because I like him, asshole. Don't get strange ideas. I just need to talk to him about something._

Midorima's lips jerked up. Maybe Aomine didn't realize it but for all his tough attitude and callous remarks, he wasn't really like that on the inside.

"What do you think I should I do?" Kise asked in a singsong voice.

"What is Kuroko again?"

Kise understood immediately, responding with a grin. "Aquarius."

A surprising match for sure. Already, Kuroko and Aomine seemed like they were on the opposite sides of the personality spectrum. Virgo and Aquarius, huh…they would have their fair share of challenges but it was rumored that the two usually had roller coaster relationships. Which might be what Aomine needs, considering how he was usually bored by everyone.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Midorimacchi?"

"Yeah. Don't give it to him," he smiled, glasses reflecting the light briefly.

"Scary. What are you thinking?"

"He'll just have to find it out. Plus tomorrow…" Midorima drifted off as he glanced at the clock. "Shit."

"Okay, okay, I won't bother you anymore. Go work on whatever you're working on," Kise said softly. "Unless you want some help?"

"Thanks but I'm fine," Midorima responded, returning to his report only to have Kise appear right by his side. Startled, he jumped in his seat and Kise smiled.

"Your hand's bleeding. How hard did you stab yourself?" Kise took his hand in his and observed closely.

Midorima had completely forgotten about that. The ink was mixing with his blood and he hadn't even noticed. His face turned the slightest bit hotter as he tried to pull his right hand back, but Kise wouldn't let go.

"What should I do, doc?" he smiled and Midorima looked away.

Embarrassed, he said, "It's just a small stab. I can take care of it myself, Kise. No need to baby me."

"You should focus on your work, right? Just remind me where the first aid kit is," Kise said, finally letting go of his hand.

He didn't bother arguing. "My side of the closet, on the floor."

Like he could concentrate on anything now. He watched Kise walk away and kneel down in front of the close to find it, humming quietly.

It had never bothered him that Kise was what people called pansexual. It didn't matter that Kise liked men, because Midorima had been 100% sure that he was straight. In fact, he was as close to asexual as any person could get, but if he had to say so, he had assumed that he undoubtedly liked women. He had been confident that Kise wouldn't affect him in any way.

But when Kise did things like this, it really made him rather confused. Not to mention that their horoscopes indicated that a relationship would be nearly impossible.

Not that he was thinking about that kind of thing.

Besides, he knew Kise's ideal person wouldn't tie him down, wouldn't be clingy, wouldn't restrict him. And Midorima was pretty sure he would be the opposite, according to the behavior of Cancer.

"Oi, oi, did you even take a look at your report?" Kise teased as he brought back the kit, breaking his train of thought. Pulling out an antibacterial cream and a q-tip, Kise knelt down, took his hand again, and dabbed at the area gently, wiping away the mess and cleaning the small hole. The look of intense concentration in those golden brown eyes forced Midorima to look away again, feeling unreasonably flustered. "Tell me if it hurts too much."

"You don't have to treat me like I'm 5, asshole," he muttered, his other hand going instinctively to his face to cover the blush he knew was spreading through his cheeks. He pretended to push his glasses up, trying to keep cool.

"Then why turn away? Do you have tears in your eyes?"

Instead of responding to the jest, he stayed silent, letting Kise have his way.

"Oi, you're not really crying, are you?" Kise applied a band-aid and looked up at him.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Midorima asked gruffly, turning his chair around properly. "Don't be stupid. Of course, I'm not crying."

Kise made a face but smiled anyway. "Well, then, I'm going to sleep. Good night, Midorimacchi~ I hope you have sweet dreams if you don't pull an all-nighter."

Midorima exhaled in relief. Finally, some quiet time to himself –

A warm hand patted his head, fingers lightly ruffling his hair. The heat crept up into his cheeks and he found himself completely disconcerted. Midorima swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, as he heard Kise walk over to where his bed was and plop down in it.

Was Kise determined to make him go insane? He shook his head and stared down at his report as if looking at it would make it better.

[~ * ~]

"_What can I do if you won't look at me?"_

_Where was he?_

_Aomine looked around but there was no particular floor, no particular wall. It was just as if he had been stuck inside a cloud, floating in mid-air, white all around him. Was he dreaming?_

"_What can I do if you won't look at me?"_

_Where was the voice coming from? There was no one there…_

"_I'm right here…why won't you look at me?" _

_The voice was filled with sadness and regret. Aomine had no idea what was going on, but he replied, "Who am I talking to?"_

_But he knew the answer already._

"_You don't remember me?"_

"_I just don't get what's going on. Of course I remember you…Kuroko Tetsuya…"_

_Then the figure seemed to appear right in front of him. Taken aback, he stared at the tears swimming in the sky blue eyes. The boy looked so delicate he seemed like he'd break if Aomine reached out and touched him._

"_Daiki…"_

_Aomine's eyes widened, shocked. "How do you know my name?"_

"_Daiki…" _

_The kid started to waver in his eyes, as if he was disappearing. _

"_Wait, hold on! Kuroko!"_

"_Daiki…"_

"Daiki? Daiki. Daiki! Wake up. Now."

A dream, huh…

That was the first time he had ever dreamed of a stranger. It was utterly bizarre, and to be honest, it freaked the hell out of him. Aomine's eyes reluctantly cracked open the smallest degree only to see a hazy vision of red hair…

"Shit!" he exclaimed, nearly falling out of the chair and groaning at the pull of his neck and back muscles. Had he really fallen asleep in his chair? Damn.

"I knew something like this would happen. You like that kid that much?" Akashi asked, his heterochromatic eyes glinting with something like amusement and irritation combined.

"Shut up," Aomine yawned. With a wince, he rubbed at his sore neck. "Why are you here…"

"It's noon."

"Are you kidding me," Aomine said flatly. Just about an hour left before the game…God, he'd slept for well over twelve hours. He stared absentmindedly at the paperclip in his captain's hand. "You picked my lock."

"It's actually more difficult than I expected," Akashi said, shrugging. "No one else could reach you. Check your phone."

Aomine blinked. He stared at the screen. 7 Missed calls from Midorima, 13 missed voicemails from Kise, 2 missed texts from Murasakibara. He checked the texts, not even bothering with the voicemails.

_You're late, Mine-chin._

_Kise told me to send you another text, so here's another text._

Aomine sighed. He looked at Akashi who just seemed amused by it all. "Sorry."

"No worries. It's not like we'll need our ace for a practice game. But you should go to this one," Akashi said in such a way that it made Aomine frown in confusion. It sounded ominous.

"What's going on."

"Nothing much. We're not playing Kirisaki Daichi anymore though. Plans changed."

"Really. Isn't it a little too late to do that?"

"They bailed," Akashi chuckled in that particularly eerie way. "The fools."

Aomine didn't bother asking any more about it.

"Get your uniform on and let's go," Akashi murmured. "I'll be waiting outside."

The door clicked behind him and Aomine yawned again. He was still so tired. Glancing downwards, he finally realized he was shirtless. Oh well, it just made changing easier. Maybe he'd start doing this more often.

He shoved on his jersey and finished changing quickly, locking the door behind him. Akashi was leaning against the wall of the hallway with a bored expression on his face.

"It's for _your_ sake, Daiki. Trust me," Akashi said, grinning.

He didn't respond.

In silence, they walked down to the indoor court, where everyone was doing what they believed was a good warm up exercise for themselves.

"Nice of you to finally show up," Midorima said as soon as he caught sight of him. He was unwrapping the tape from his fingers carefully, a nail file in his lap. He flexed his left hand and fingers. Apparently, his lucky item of the day was a clock in the shape of a bear.

"He was busy with _chemistry_. Give him a break," Akashi teased, taking a seat on the bench with the geek Aomine called a friend. Midorima chuckled and Aomine rolled his eyes. Leave it to Akashi to make everything sound weird.

He felt a presence behind him and couldn't help but grin. The guy was just so damned tall that he couldn't possibly sneak up on anyone.

"Ah, Mine-chin, did you get my text?"

Aomine nodded. Suddenly, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. A ball flew his way and he caught it easily, flinging it in a haphazard way to the basket. It shouldn't have been able to go in, but it did. There was no feeling of awe inside him, though, the way it used to. It wasn't like basketball wasn't fun. It was just that no one could handle Teiko ever, or the high school he had gone to, or him alone for that matter. No new challenges and no one was particularly talented, with the exception of his own friends who were in his team. And even then, his friends couldn't beat him.

He sighed.

"Talented as ever, Aominecchi," Kise murmured, sitting down next to Midorima as well. "You'd crush everyone if you went professional."

Aomine shrugged, uncomfortable with the compliment because he didn't have to do anything in particular to deserve it. As a way to relieve his stress, he couldn't help but want to bicker with Midorima instead. "What happened to your right hand? Was your lucky item a pen? I bet you stabbed yourself like the geek you are."

To his surprise, Midorima actually blushed a little.

"Don't tell me you actually did that," Aomine said, jaw dropping. Was that guy for real?

Midorima pushed up his glasses as if to try and regain his composure. "My lucky item was _not_ a pen. This was absolutely and utterly Kise's fault. Plus, I wasn't being very careful."

"That doesn't sound like you," Aomine chuckled.

"Neither does the text that you sent me," Kise said brightly and Aomine frowned, his lips firming into a thin line. "Well, it _sounds_ like you, but I have to say, I was pretty surprised when I got it."

"Just delete that. I was tired and I didn't know what I was doing-"

"No, it seems like you knew exactly what you were doing. Ryouta, tell me, what did he want?" Akashi interrupted, looking rather irritatingly smug.

"Don't open your mouth, Kise," Aomine warned, eyes flashing.

Kise pouted and pretended to lock his lips when Midorima suddenly murmured, "You want a certain waiter's phone number? Why not just ask Kise in person?"

"Bastard," Aomine hissed.

"You didn't even think that I'd know about it? Kise's my roommate."

"I was exhausted yesterday and I wasn't thinking-"

"But you know what they say…dreams are just a reflection of the desires in reality. Your subconscious self knows you better than you do," Midorima smirked.

"Not to add fuel to the fire or anything, but you sort of yelled his name in your sleep, Daiki," Akashi said complacently. He mimicked his deep and raspy voice. "Kuroko!"

Aomine groaned, rubbing his temples. He should have skipped the game. "Damn it, Akashi, did you really need to say it like that?"

"That's just how you sound," Akashi said innocently, knowing he was far from it, grinning. "I thought I did a pretty good job copying your voice…"

"You knew that's not what I meant-"

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! GATHER UP!" Momoi's megaphoned voice echoed loudly throughout the spacious gym, effectively cutting Aomine off. Everyone circled around the "Generation of Miracles", a nickname for the five most talented players, which happened to be the five of them.

"So today it has been decided we're playing Seirin. Neither of the teams was notified of this because the objective is to anticipate the unexpected. They have added several really good players this year. Of course, we have gained the Generation of Miracles, but don't take them lightly. I mean it, you guys. I especially want you to keep an eye out for a couple of the freshmen. I'm not going to tell you they are, but you'll see what I mean soon enough," Momoi said, already going into professional mode. The coach stood beside her, nodding. "This is just a practice game. Yes, it is. But this will set the tone of the season so I want all of you to try your best. None of you better disappoint me. I'm not allowed to tell you my analysis of the Seirin players, but I can advise you how to play against some of them after the first quarter."

She pulled out a box of water bottles. "Drink as much as you feel is necessary. Of course, you don't want it sloshing around in your stomach once you play, so be careful."

Aomine blinked. Momoi definitely hadn't been this worried or nervous when they had been up against Kirisaki Daichi. Was Seirin really that good? Or was she feeling jittery because she couldn't inform them ahead of time? His eyes narrowed in anticipation.

"I want Ki-chan, Akashi-kun, and Muk-kun to stay out of the first quarter. Aomine-kun, you can play first quarter if you want but I would rather you played in the last quarter instead. So Midorin, I'm counting on you~"

All of the team members nodded. Back in high school, Momoi had never allowed the entire Generation of Miracles to play on the court at once because she had wanted to train each of them separately. And so, even now, it would be rare for any one of them to play more than a quarter per game.

"Let's go, team!" she clapped and they shouted back in unison.

The other players returned to their warm up exercises as Aomine sat down on the bench.

"Aomine…I hope you enjoy this game," Momoi said softly, arms crossed, standing in front of him. To his surprise, his eyes didn't linger on her chest, didn't gaze at the cleavage visible like he usually did. Maybe it was because he really was interested in Seirin's ability to play, excited about basketball for the first time in a while, that it was distracting him.

It was definitely _not_ because of the waiter kid he'd met ten days ago.

He shrugged and she sighed.

Just then, the door of the gym opened loudly to reveal Seirin's team. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the tall guy radiating some sort of beastly aura. With reddish black hair and deeply furrowed eyebrows, he looked like one of those high school delinquents. This had to be one of the freshmen Momoi was talking about. He could see her analyzing them as they walked into the locker room.

"Tch, it's Riko," she muttered.

Aomine thought he recognized a few faces, but he couldn't remember if some of the freshmen had been opponents from back in high school, especially when he had been so concerned with winning and scoring.

Momoi bit her lip. "There he is again…"

"Who?"

"The one man I can't read," she smiled, her eyes tracking some sort of movement but apparently failing to calculate.

"There's someone like that?" Aomine asked incredulously. "Wait, but you can even read us five…does that make him better than us?"

The thought was strangely appealing.

"Every person has a strength and weakness when it comes to basketball. Would you believe it that he's really the only weakness I've ever had? I can't read him. I can't see his potential." She chuckled, as the team disappeared to change into their uniforms. "Well, I must say I'm a little surprised that Akashi-kun didn't tell you anything. And Muk-kun too."

"Like they'd ever tell me anything," Aomine muttered, snorting.

Momoi laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Have fun, Dai-chan."

He yawned. "Got it, Manager."

"You're so mean," Momoi pouted and Aomine grinned.

The whistle blew as Seirin's team got out of the locker room, dressed in their jerseys. Number 10, huh…he looked like he was ready to kill.

"Would you look at that guy," Kise murmured. "He's so…angry."

"The formidable freshman…but I can't see any others that will prove as difficult…" Midorima frowned before walking towards the center of the court.

"Well, they do have a hidden card," Akashi said quietly. "Maybe you haven't noticed him yet. Number 11."

Aomine blinked. No one was wearing a jersey with that number on it.

_BEEP!_

"Line up!" Momoi said. The other players minus the four and Midorima returned back to the benches to wait.

Aomine frowned. Teams on the court consisted of five people but there were only four of them lined up from Seirin. What were they playing at?

And that was when Aomine finally noticed a certain sky blue haired boy.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I know next to nothing about medical things or basketball. The little that I included, I had to look up. Feel free to correct me!

**Also:** I know that it's difficult for Seirin to manage a team with ONE member of GoM normally in KuroBasu and in this fic, Seirin actually faces all 5 at once. This means that I down play a lot of their skills. I love them all as superhuman basketball stars but I made them all a little more normal here because it IS a little 'slice-of-life'. And Seirin players are very formidable in this. (Then again, I made the GoM really close friends so…)

And! Starting from the next chapter or so, things might start going faster and faster. Stay tuned~!

Ano...L-leave a review, please? It really helps me stay motivated to write :) *blushes* Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy (Belated…a lot) Birthday, Aomine-chan! (Aomine-kun, Aominecchi, Mine-chin, Daiki, Dai-chan, Aomine…is that all of them? XD)**

-My entire author's note is at the bottom this time-

**Then I Found You**

* * *

_Chapter 3 – In which Aomine (finally) makes his move and says the right thing, kind of  
_

* * *

Aomine's eyes widened in shock as he stared at none other than the waiter boy, Kuroko Tetsuya, who was standing next to the beast of a freshman. Compared to that menacing aura, the boy just faded away as if he had no presence at all whatsoever. _He_ was Seirin's secret weapon?

Then again, hadn't Akashi said something about Kuroko being an interesting basketball player? And Murasakibara had played with him too…

Ah, so that's why Momoi said that.

Aomine exhaled loudly, irritated. His friends really liked making things difficult for him, the sadists. He glared, his gaze meeting Midorima's, of all people. The geek only smirked in response and Aomine blatantly flipped him off.

Jackass.

With that, he turned his attention back to the court, eyes landing on Kuroko instantly. For someone who seemed so weak and fragile, the boy actually had decently toned arms, from what he could see thanks to the jersey. He was as short as ever, especially compared to the other freshman. Just as slim as he remembered, and if he had to be honest, rather adorable with those large blue eyes and the baby-like face…

He shook his head in denial. He was talking about a mere boy who he had met ten days ago and hadn't seen since then.

"Surprised, Daiki?" Akashi chuckled softly, patting him on the shoulder. "None of us would have even bothered trying to get you to come today if we didn't have a reason for it. Aren't we nice? We're doing our best to set you two up, you know."

"All of you…are such assholes," Aomine sighed, not able to stop himself from smiling a bit self-deprecatingly. He was losing his touch if his friends thought he needed help with relationships. "Why are you guys having so much fun with this anyway?"

"Because, Aominecchi, you're so adorable sometimes," Kise teased. "Just look at you getting all flustered by Kurokocchi~"

At that, Aomine grumbled. "Don't you guys have your own relationships to think about?"

Then the whistle blew, commanding his complete focus, cutting off the flow of conversation. Aomine's eyes immediately sought out the kid but he was already gone. That lack of presence had to be advantageous in a game like this. He scanned the court, only to see the monstrous freshman jump and take the ball first. To overpower Teiko's starter…

"Momoi, what's his name?"

She was sitting down next to Kise, rapidly writing down things only she could understand. She finally responded, still distracted by the gameplay, "Hmm? Oh, Tetsu-kun is the one I can't read. Or are you talking about Kagamin?"

"The second one..." Aomine drifted off, his mind already wandering back to Tetsu. As in Kuroko Tetsuya. So that boy was interesting in more ways than one, huh. To think that Momoi couldn't analyze him. It was rather peculiar. An undefined potential…was there really such a thing?

"Kagami Taiga. Apparently he's played ball in the States," Momoi said, her own eyes tracking the players. She was no longer the cutesy girl but the professional information gatherer. "He's got huge potential, though I'm sure you can see that without knowing the numbers. Anyone could. Just look at him. He looks like he's on fire."

He chuckled darkly, agreeing though Kagami was hardly the subject of his attention. "He's a monster."

Suddenly, the ball moved from Kagami to the guy in the glasses so quickly that Aomine almost missed the slight change in the direction of the pass. But undoubtedly, someone had purposefully intercepted and _misdirected_ it, considering as how the ball flew too fast, too well angled. From Kagami's position, it had been nearly impossible to do such a thing. Despite that ridiculous pass, however, Teiko scored the first point anyway by stealing the ball and because of Midorima's perfect throw and coordination with the other team members.

As Aomine watched from the bench, he saw that same misdirection technique over and over again as the first quarter played out. His eyes began to adjust to the speed of the passes and he was finally able to locate Kuroko, who was definitely the cause. Other people on the court probably still couldn't see him fast enough, wasn't paying enough attention to the phantom player, to direct their passes somewhere else.

Aomine found himself grinning, watching the light blue haired boy appear and disappear from sight, purposefully acting like a shadow to get the ball around to people who could shoot. It didn't seem like Kuroko himself could actually score or do anything other than pass, and he seemed to rely on the power forward a lot.

That was how the boy played, he guessed. He was so invisible it was difficult for even Aomine to see, but he could already understand that someone like Kuroko would be immensely valuable on the court.

An excellent shadow like him needed a brilliant light. Or, for that matter, a shadow simply could not excel without one. He assumed Kagami was that light but it was glaringly obvious to Aomine that he still had a long ways to go. Their synchronization was good but far from perfect. Ultimately, Kuroko's talents were being wasted in Seirin. He noted with some interest that they switched him out halfway through.

"I don't get what's happening," Kise murmured, his eyes having failed to catch the movements.

"Don't worry," Murasakibara said, munching on whatever snack he decided to have today. "You just need to keep an eye out for Kuro-chin when he's put back into the game."

"He's the same as always," Momoi murmured and Aomine said nothing.

Soon the first quarter ended, and the sound of the buzzer echoed loudly, with Teiko only ahead by three points.

Momoi smiled as the five players on the court returned to the benches to take a break. "Good job, guys! So we'll switch out Midorin for Akashi-kun –"

"Satsuki, I think Atsushi and I will step out this time," Akashi said quietly. He glanced at Murasakibara, who simply nodded his consent, continuing to eat.

Momoi, taken aback, blinked rapidly in surprise. "What?"

"Daiki needs to really _shine_ in this game," Akashi smirked, shrugging. "It shouldn't be a problem. After all, he's our ace. Besides, don't you want to see him against that freshman, Taiga?"

"Shut it, Akashi," Aomine growled, hating that he was feeling embarrassed.

"If you say so…Aomine-kun can play the second half then," Momoi said a little doubtfully. "Then Ki-chan –"

"I think Ryouta needs a little rest as well," Akashi answered, his eyes flashing. Both Momoi and Kise jumped a little as she nodded quickly, intimidated. She decided to change Midorima and the alternate power forward out for Aomine and another shooting guard.

"It looks like Akashi-kun wants you to play all three remaining quarters. You up for it?" Momoi said, glancing at Akashi warily several times to make sure. A barely imperceptible nod and Momoi seemed to relax a little.

"Sure," Aomine grunted, standing up from his spot on the bench.

"Have fun," Midorima said, surprisingly serious and not as sarcastic as he usually was. "That freshman is no joke, especially with those…passes."

Aomine nodded. "Clearly. Thanks."

The blow of a whistle indicated the end of the break and Aomine walked into the court with his four non-Generation of Miracles team members. He couldn't help but grin, excited to be playing.

"Ah…it's you…I'm afraid I don't know your name. Or if I do, I forgot. I'm sorry."

At the voice, he whirled around to find Kuroko standing behind him, face upturned to talk to him. This time, he wasn't as surprised at the sudden presence and grinned. "Name's Aomine Daiki. And from the looks of it, you're on the Seirin basketball team."

"Yes, I am. I like basketball."

"You don't seem like the kind of person that would," Aomine teased, his usual smirk on his face.

"What do I seem like to you then?" Kuroko asked, tilting his head and Aomine blinked, unsure of how to answer him. The weirdest thoughts were popping into his head and he made a face.

"A waiter," he said at last.

"I see," Kuroko nodded, his face impassive. Aomine's jaw hung open in disbelief. There was just something about him that made it seem like he was on a different level than everyone else. A little 4D. "Well, I'm looking forward to playing against you."

Aomine grinned. But unfortunately, the quarter was close to starting, so he found himself blurting in haste, "Do you have time to talk after the game?"

"Sure."

With that, they got to their respective places and the second quarter began.

[~ * ~]

30 seconds to go.

Aomine had never been so distracted during a game before in his life. Of course, he still made all the shots necessary and Teiko was in the lead by a substantial amount of points, to say the least. But it seemed like every minute, every second, he was searching for the sky blue-haired phantom. He told himself it was because he didn't want Kuroko to steal or misdirect his pass, but Aomine found himself staring so much that it was becoming ridiculous. Besides, he rarely passed to begin with, so that didn't even make any sense.

He lifted the neck of his jersey to wipe the sweat beginning to run down to his neck. He couldn't remember the last time he had tried so hard. And for what? To impress Kuroko? He really must be an idiot. It was just a practice game and he was getting so riled up about it that Teiko was actually doubling Seirin's score. He bet he hadn't even tried this hard at the national high school championship last year.

With a sigh, he was ready to go on the offensive again when he saw Kuroko swipe his hand across his forehead, looking worn out but, at the same time, happy, the small smile making Aomine's heart beat faster. He swallowed hard, almost missing the pass directed at him, but he managed to catch it in the nick of time.

"Ahomine, pay attention!"

His team member looked pissed but he ignored it, a muscle twitching in his own forehead at hearing the nickname he hated, running quickly and approaching the basket. Just then, he saw Kuroko move towards him and Aomine panicked inwardly, almost losing his focus but barely managing to toss the ball in carelessly, with Kagami trailing after him. Thankfully, it went in with little problem and he exhaled loudly in relief.

_BEEP!_

The buzzer finally signaled the end of the 1st half. Aomine ran towards the sidelines and as soon as he got to the bench, he muttered, "Momoi, switch me out. I'll play for the last quarter. I don't want to play 3rd."

Without bothering to hear his friends' taunts or his other team members' complaints, he headed upwards to the top of the building, wanting some fresh air. Once he got there, he plopped down on the hard cement and stared up at the sky, confused. His fingers intertwined behind his head and he sighed, watching the purple-ish clouds drift across, the sun turning a dark orange color as it set. A breeze gently rattled the fence, cooling him down by ruffling through his damp hair.

He sighed.

This kind of thing was so foreign to him because nothing ever affected his gameplay so badly before. Even girls, with their high pitched screams and giggling, had never distracted him this much. He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

But he might as well give up protesting, give up arguing with himself. He admitted it – he was attracted to Kuroko Tetsuya for reasons unknown, in a different way than he had ever been to anyone else.

Was there really such thing as love at first sight? He shuddered just thinking about it. It was such an unreasonable, impossible concept that it just appalled him.

In any case, it wasn't so much the gender he had a problem with, though he had never expected to fall for a guy. Just how did one approach a man? By this point, he knew exactly what to do with females, how to use his charms, how to talk to them, what to do with them. Planning dates or buying presents…there were standard procedures on how to treat a girl. But with a guy, he was utterly clueless. And what was worse was that sex wasn't the first thing that came to mind. He actually wanted to _date_ the kid, he realized. He wanted to spend time with him.

Hopefully Kuroko wouldn't be utterly disturbed if Aomine treated him like a woman. Plus, it wasn't like he could ask Kise about it, so he was all on his own here.

That is, if Kuroko was even willing to go on a date with him or something to begin with.

Tch. All he knew was that Kuroko had felt right in his arms and not just in a carnal sense. He was slender, short, enigmatic and rather cute.

He scratched absentmindedly at his head, wondering if he was going soft. Maybe it was just because it had been a long time since he had been with anyone.

But he knew that was a lie.

"Aomine-kun?"

Aomine jerked upright at hearing his name spoken quietly, whirling around to see Kuroko standing near the doorway. He willed his heart to stop beating so fast, the adrenaline rush making him edgy. "Jesus, you scared me. What is it?"

"I'm sorry for surprising you. Momoi-san asked me to tell you to come down right away. The 3rd quarter is almost over."

"Why didn't she send one of Teiko's team members?" Aomine frowned. "You're our opponent."

"Well, actually, she tried to send Kise-kun but Akashi-kun got a little…upset, I guess. Momoi-san was talking to me during the 3rd quarter because I wasn't on the court and then…."

Aomine's eyebrow twitched, knowing exactly what had happened. Damn the meddling captain.

"Would you like to go down together?"

His heart skipped a beat at the completely innocent question and he just shoved his hands into his pockets, muttering gruffly, "Isn't that why you came here in the first place? To get me?"

"Yes," Kuroko said softly. "But if you didn't want to go back, I wouldn't make you. I'd be a little sad if you were to skip the last quarter though. You're an amazing basketball player, so I'm guessing you're a part of the Generation of Miracles…? It's an honor to play against you."

Aomine stopped in his tracks. It was funny what the boy could do to his pulse. Somehow, the compliment he was so used to getting felt a little different coming from Kuroko. "Yeah, well, you have some interesting talents yourself."

"I'm merely a shadow," he responded quietly.

"You underestimate yourself."

Kuroko smiled but said nothing. They walked down the stairs together and stepped back into the gym in a surprisingly comfortable silence after that.

"I'll talk to you later, then…Tetsu," Aomine said with a sheepish grin, feeling just the slightest bit embarrassed. Kuroko looked a little startled at the nickname but he merely nodded before they returned to their respective teams.

The 3rd quarter was now over.

"Where were you?" Momoi asked the moment he got to the bench, her hands on her hips. "I was getting worried because you weren't showing up."

"I just needed a break," Aomine said, shrugging. He was surprised that his friends weren't saying anything or doing anything to make fun of him. They were simply smiling eerily from their spots on the bench, especially Akashi, who seemed so smug it made the hairs on the back of his neck rise in wariness.

"Well, go kick butt!" she cheered as he went back out on to the court.

He scanned the court looking for Kuroko and he finally found him standing next to Kagami. When their eyes met, he saw the boy smile a little as the 4th quarter officially began. Aomine looked away, pretending like he was extremely interested in the scoreboard, only to see something that made his jaw drop in shock. Somehow, Seirin had managed to catch up so much that the point difference was now single digit. What the hell had happened during the 3rd quarter?

Had none of the Generation of Miracles participated? But that didn't explain it either, since Kuroko had taken a break for the entire quarter, which meant Seirin had played without utilizing their biggest advantage. Besides, the other team members in Teiko's basketball team were almost as good as the five of them, especially the upperclassmen…

Damn. It had to be Akashi. He probably threatened their team members to go easier.

Before he could think it about it anymore, the last quarter of the game began.

[~ * ~]

Halfway through the quarter, Aomine found himself in the same position he had been in during the 2nd quarter.

_Come on, get yourself together. Concentrate._

His eyes scanned the court, following the movement of the ball. Seirin scored and now Teiko was on the offensive. He caught the ball from a pass made by his teammate and he ran for it, speeding towards the basket, his pace unrivaled. But just then, a flash of movement caught his eye and he realized Kuroko was tagging him from behind as Kagami jumped in front of him, trying to stop him from shooting.

Aomine's eyes bulged slightly in shock, barely stopping himself from smashing into the guy. He had underestimated this freshman's ability to run.

"Like hell I'll let you score again," Kagami growled and Aomine smirked, regaining his composure.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Aomine murmured and he saw Kagami's eyes widen slightly as he faked to the left and turned to shoot to the right, avoiding the outstretched hand trying to block him. The ball went in easily and Aomine swiped at the sweat along his jawline with a vicious grin. "If you could have stopped me, you would have by now."

"Who are you?"

Aomine simply raised an eyebrow at the intense guy as Seirin took the ball.

"Pay attention to the game, Kagami Taiga," Aomine sneered and the red-haired, hotheaded power forward frowned. Something about the freshman rubbed him the wrong way, but at the same time he was an interesting opponent.

At that moment, Seirin's shooting guard managed to make the shot and the ball was Teiko's once again. Someone passed it to him, and Aomine aimed to score as was expected of him but Kagami got in his way.

"I won't let you," he growled.

"Try me," Aomine jeered and planned to shoot, when Kagami's arm flailed in an unrestrained attempt to stop his throw. Instinctively, Aomine's left foot moved backwards to try and regain the balance lost only to belatedly feel that someone had come up behind him. He saw the sky-blue hair in his peripheral vision and realized with horror that it was none other than Kuroko who stood there only a few inches away. At the rate and angle his arm would swing out, he'd hit the boy hard.

He couldn't let that happen. He just…couldn't.

For some reason, that thought took priority and in that split second, he twisted himself around, along with his ankle, landing hard on the ground away from both Kuroko and Kagami. The ball slipped from his hand as he felt something snap, his hands and ass taking the bulk of the fall's impact.

"Ah…"

The sound escaped him at the painful throb, even as he tried to keep it to himself. He vaguely heard the whistle and the referee call out something but he didn't care or have the energy to do anything but lay sprawled out.

_I didn't hit him…At least I didn't hit him…_

His eyes widened, surprised at his own relief considering he had acted so stupidly, and he laughed quietly. He must have lost his mind. If he hadn't been so distracted by the thought of avoiding Kuroko, he could have moved more fluidly and made the shot with no damage done to anyone. Clearly, his idea of chivalry was a little messed up.

Clenching his teeth, he reached out and tentatively touched his ankle, wincing at the pain. He stretched back out on the gym floor, staring at the bright lights above with disinterest, feeling a little dazed.

Was he a complete and total idiot? Probably.

He chuckled a little.

"Aomine-kun!"

Kuroko's face suddenly appeared above his and he grinned at the concern in the bright blue eyes. Aomine looked away a couple of seconds later, unable to hold the stare.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, a little flustered. "Don't worry about it."

With a smile, Kuroko extended a hand towards him. "I'll help you up."

"Like you could handle my weight," Aomine scoffed, grabbing his hand anyway and leaning heavily with his right leg to stand back up. But even as he tried to depend on himself as much as possible, Kuroko swayed trying to support him, and Aomine laughed.

"Oi, oi, I figured it'd be too hard for you."

At that, Kuroko grumbled. "I'm trying my best, you know."

Yeah, he knew.

They walked slowly towards the bench where his team members were frowning in concern. The game continued on as Kuroko and Aomine both were replaced on the court.

"I saw you, Aomine-kun…you were trying to protect me, right?"

Aomine stumbled in surprise at the direct question, grimacing at the awkward step that put pressure on his sprained ankle. "What are you talking about? I was just put off by Kagami's block, that's all."

"Thank you," Kuroko murmured as if he hadn't spoken at all. "I…really appreciate that you were thinking about me…"

Aomine rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. The last thing he had expected was for Kuroko to notice. But what was even more surprising was that the kid sounded so happy, even as his face didn't really show it.

"Tch, it's nothing."

Kuroko jabbed him lightly in the side. "It's not nothing. Why did you do that for me?"

Aomine searched for the right way to answer that question when he saw Midorima and Kise come up to him.

"Kurokocchi~ Thanks for bringing this idiot back," Kise said in his usual singsong voice, flinging an arm around his shoulders, as Midorima did the same, virtually lifting him off Kuroko. The boy simply nodded and returned back to the court as Aomine lost his chance to talk more with him.

"Dammit, Kise-"

Kise interrupted him easily with his loudness. "You're so cool, Aominecchi~ You would never have done something like that normally. Spraining an ankle for the one you love? How romantic-"

"Shut up, Kise."

"We all saw you~"

"Shut _up, _Kise_."_

"But you did well. It looks like you conveyed some of your feelings to that boy," Midorima commented in such a clinical way that Aomine was tempted to laugh. "I can't even make fun of you for that."

"I just didn't want to hit him. That's all," Aomine muttered. "Why doesn't anyone get it?"

"Don't worry, Aomine. We get it," Midorima smirked. "Probably better than you can."

He sighed.

[~ * ~]

In the end, Seirin lost. Aomine wasn't particularly proud that his school won but the game had been interesting. Besides, Teiko hadn't won by much anyway.

He glanced down at his poorly wrapped foot, ankle now so swollen that he had to take off his shoe. The bandage was all but slipping off since Akashi and Momoi had done the worst patch job he'd ever seen in his life and had refused to let Aomine do anything about it.

"I know you didn't do this on purpose. You would never voluntarily hurt yourself, so I'm not going to get mad at you or anything, Dai-chan. You don't have to come to practices until you feel better," Momoi said gently but sternly at the same time. "But I don't want you to use this as an excuse to skip forever."

"I got it. Don't worry."

"Excuse me…"

Kuroko's voice only slightly startled him. Maybe he was getting used to it.

"What is it?"

"Can I take you to the health room or something?"

"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi said happily. "Yeah, do as you like! But Aomine-kun is rather heavy…"

"That's okay. He said he needed to talk to me."

Aomine stood up and leaned against Kuroko, who immediately looked like he was going to fall over.

"You sure you're okay? Muk-kun could probably carry him with no problem-"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Aomine muttered. "I'm the one who's supporting most of my own weight. Why are you so concerned about Tetsu here?"

"But if you're sure…" Momoi went on, pretending like Aomine hadn't even spoken.

"I am. Thank you," Kuroko said politely, as they moved slowly outside of the gym. "You really are heavy, Aomine-kun."

"You're just too little," Aomine retorted, wincing. He sounded like a five year old trying to bicker. "Never mind."

"What did you want to tell me?"

"You sure get to the point, Tetsu."

How was he supposed to approach this when he himself wasn't sure what he wanted?

"I'm curious, Aomine-kun."

Aomine said nothing as they arrived at the health room near the gym, where a doctor usually was. Thankfully she was there today and he got treated quickly, though she grumbled about the terrible wrapping. Nothing was quite broken but after a few x-rays, she informed him that he had damaged a lot of muscles, which could only repair with time. No surgery was necessary. Just proper walking and careful bandaging, ointment for the swelling. She also gave him a pair of crutches to use and they left, thanking her.

They walked in silence again.

Aomine glanced over at him and to his surprise, Kuroko looked rather stricken, his blue eyes filled with some melancholy emotion that made him want to comfort the boy. Those eyes alone expressed everything, his face staying impassive.

"Oi, Tetsu," he finally said. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I…I can't really put it into words," Kuroko said slowly, as if he was trying to figure something out.

"Try."

"I guess I don't…I guess I don't understand why you'd go so far to avoid hitting me. No matter how hard you would have swung out at me, it wouldn't have been as severe as what you had to go through to try and stop yourself-"

"Actually, this isn't severe at all-"

"Aomine-kun, you can't play basketball for a while. And that's because of me…If I had taken the hit, then I probably would have been able to play almost right away or at the very least participate in the next game. I would have been fine. So I'm confused. Will you explain it to me? Why did you do that for me? Plus, you still haven't told me anything about what you wanted to talk about."

Kuroko took a deep breath, looking like he was going to pass out if he didn't get more air. Clearly the kid wasn't used to talking so much.

But at his words, Aomine's heart starting beating harder, his pulse thumping in his ears so loudly he couldn't guarantee that he'd be able to hear whatever Kuroko would say afterwards. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because he was nervous but he guessed he was, since this kind of feeling was entirely foreign.

"Well, if you want to say it that way, the reason why I did that…I guess that has to do with what I wanted to talk to you about," Aomine said quietly. "I didn't want to hurt you. At all. Even if that meant I had to hurt myself to avoid it. If you ask me why, I can't tell you the answer because I don't really know. I did what I felt I had to. I'm glad you're not hurt. And that's all there is to it."

He wanted to say more, tell him that for some reason or other he was attracted to him and that he wanted to go out with him – was it still called that if it was between two guys? – just to see why he was feeling the way he was, but he was at a loss of how to approach it.

He cleared his throat. "Actually...I guess that's a lie. I do know why I didn't want to hurt you. I know we don't really know each other, but I think that maybe I like you. Or something. Yeah, we're both guys but-"

Suddenly, Kuroko stepped closer and, before he could even register what would happen, wrapped his arms around Aomine's waist, burying his face against his chest, holding him so tightly that Aomine had trouble breathing. He lost hold of his crutches and they clattered against the ground as he leaned entirely on his right leg. His eyes widened, bulging in shock. "What the hell-"

"Thank you..."

* * *

**SO OOC and cheesy! Yes. Yes it is. I like it that way. :D Kuroko's POV will come up next chapter. Yay!**

**On to the…**

**Author's Note: **Hi, all! I know I cut the basketball game as short as I could, so I apologize if you wanted to see a lot of that, because I just suck with sports scenes T3T Besides, it's just not very romantic, so I sped it up and the scenes are probably really choppy. I'm sorry! *runs away*

ALSO! In actual college basketball, they don't use quarters of 12 minutes each (this is NBA) but halves of 20 minutes. But for the sake of my story, just pretend it's like an NBA game – completely embarrassed – I think I really failed with this research…And this setting is supposed to be in Japan, and yet I made it seem as if they were following the American school system, which starts in September. I'm sorry…OTL. I also know nothing about spraining/breaking an ankle, so if anything's wrong, feel free to correct me!

AND! School's starting again, which means it'll be difficult to update really frequently, but I'll try to update once a week. Thank you for understanding :)

**Final Confession: **I actually had a_ really_ hard time with this chapter. And I wondered if I should scrap it like a million times *tears* Please be kind…? T3T

Edited 9/8: Check out The Best Present if you're interested in MuraKuro rated R or M...yeah, you know what I mean. It's a one-shot~


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **AH! It's been such a long time since I've updated. School has been keeping me very busy...

This chapter is a product of all the little snippets I was able to write in few minute intervals, so bear with me if it's choppy or overly internal monologue-y. And of course, thank you so much! Oh my gosh, I was so shocked at the number of followers I have that I can't even express how happy I am that this story is getting a good response.

Please leave a review~ Each one of them makes me feel so fuzzy inside *smiles*

**Warning you again: **OOC. Cheesiness. A lot of it.

Done talking now. Enjoy!

**Then I Found You**

* * *

_Chapter 4 – In which things become "official", quite awkward, and rather corny_

_(After all, first dates are rather like that)_

_-omake included-_

* * *

It was entirely possible – perhaps the better phrase to use here is highly probable – that this would just as easily end in failure as it had every other time. But Kuroko was absolutely certain this time that the dark-skinned basketball player was _the one_.

Naïve and stupid, yes. But Kuroko wanted to have faith even when he had been let down so much in the past.

He could feel Aomine's heart thudding loudly under his ear, beating faster with each passing moment, and he loosened his grip so the larger male could breathe. Maybe he was overanalyzing things but it seemed like Aomine was at least a little bit attracted to him in some way…right? Would things actually work out this time around? It was a frightening thought, but one that made him hopeful for a happy ending once again.

"You scared me there for a second, Tetsu," Aomine's deep voice murmured in his ear, sending shivers down his spine. Kuroko let go completely, feeling embarrassed, only to feel an arm wrapping around his waist, pulling him back to the unforgivingly hard and muscular body once again. He shivered. The voice was teasing but Kuroko wondered if Aomine had any idea what it felt like to be on the recipient end of that low, husky murmur. "I told you, it was no problem. So long as you're okay, I'm fine."

They stood still, as if frozen in place, Aomine's arm binding him to that position.

Was it possible to be overwhelmed by gentleness? The taller male really had a way of making things sound gruff even as his words were kind. Kuroko couldn't help but feel protected, cherished, things he rarely experienced but had always sought after.

He blushed. "Um…I wanted to ask you something, and I hope it won't seem offensive or anything..."

"Just say it."

"W-will…will you go out with me?" Kuroko blurted, feeling his face flush against the jacket Aomine wore on top of his jersey. Usually, it was the other party that asked him out, so it was nerve-racking to be the one to ask someone…

Especially because of things like this, when everything goes quiet.

He babbled to fill the silence. "I'll understand if you don't like guys because I know a lot of guys are bothered by it, when a guy…likes a guy…so you can let go if you're disgusted and just never talk to me again, since we don't go to the same school or anything and I'll just pretend like I don't know you anymore and-"

"Shh," Aomine's thumb pressed against his lips softly. At first, all he could feel was the warm, calloused touch. Then Kuroko realized, to his surprise, that Aomine was laughing.

"What?" Kuroko asked. Aomine moved his hand away from his face and ruffled his hair lightly. Kuroko's eyes lowered, staring down at the ground in mortification. "What's so funny?"

"You. You're so…"

"So what?" Kuroko was getting curious but also a little hurt. Was something about his confession amusing?

"So damned cute," Aomine muttered, laughter coming to an abrupt stop, his brows set so harshly that he looked almost angry to have to admit it. Yet his eyes gazed softly at him, a sharp contrast from his frowning expression. "It feels weird to be asked out, considering I'm the one usually doing that. Way to steal my words, Tetsu. You're more courageous than I thought."

_What?_

_Oh…_

Kuroko smiled a little, understanding finally dawning on him. "So it's a yes?"

Aomine shrugged, cheeks reddening the slightest bit. "Do you have to make me say every little thing? Fine. Yeah. Though I still think I should have been the one to ask you. Damn, this is uncomfortable. Well, I'm going to warn you right now, then. I'm no good at things like dating, okay?"

The arm around Kuroko tightened reflexively. Aomine was surprisingly…well, cute.

"I understand. But Aomine-kun, aren't you…straight?"

"I don't know what I'd call myself, to be honest. I think if you think you like the person, gender shouldn't really matter. I don't discriminate," Aomine responded matter-of-factly. "I don't seem like the kind of person to say something like that, do I? Oh well."

_What a cool answer, _Kuroko found himself thinking, admiring him inwardly.

But then, in a sheepish tone, Aomine asked, "Can you grab my crutches?"

Kuroko laughed softly at the arm still locking him in place. Did Aomine really not know that he was holding him so tightly there was no way he could break his grip? He decided to say nothing.

Aomine muttered, "It's your fault I dropped them in the first place."

"Well…"

"I'm going to fall on top of you if you don't get them."

At that, Kuroko pouted. "Fine, I will. Only if you'll let go of me first."

"Oh, right." Self-consciouly, Aomine released him, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Sorry about that. I didn't even realize. It must have been because I was losing my balance."

"Of course."

Bending down, Kuroko leaned over to pick up the crutches with a smile when he heard, "You're the first guy I've ever been attracted to. Consider yourself lucky…or cursed. Or whatever."

He stilled. He didn't know if he was imagining things, but Aomine suddenly didn't seem as tough as he had come off as when he had first seen him. Certainly, he had a rather frightening frown but…

"Oi, how long are you going to stare at my feet?"

He quickly grabbed the crutches and handed it over to Aomine with a grin. "Sorry."

"You…do you want to go get something to eat?" Aomine asked casually, adjusting the uncomfortable sticks under his armpits, completely avoiding eye contact.

Kuroko chuckled. "Sure."

[~ * ~]

Aomine felt like an ass. For one thing, he was no good at asking people out on _dates_. Sure, whenever he felt the need to have a quick fuck here and there, he easily picked up girls who were immediately drawn to him for his looks, height, build, whatever they found attractive about him. So in a way, he was the one who asked. Most of the time, though, it was just a mutual thing. Getting asked out made him feel like a girl or something, as if he had suddenly lost a part of his manhood. Maybe all of it.

He grimaced. What he considered to be "going out" probably didn't match anyone else's definition, least of all Kuroko's. The boy had looked unreasonably happy at Aomine's poorly stated answer, so cheerful at the idea that they he had agreed to give dating a chance. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Plus, Aomine could bet that he didn't have a single romantic bone in his body. He had no clue where to take anyone if it wasn't a hotel room or his room or her room…

What did couples even do with each other if it wasn't physical? Now that he thought about it, it was kind of sad that he didn't know. Did they _talk_? If so, he had no idea what to say since he wasn't the best conversationalist. Maybe he really did need to ask Kise for advice.

He shuddered.

Besides, what made Kuroko different from any other friend? Other than the fact that they had put a label on their relationship, Aomine could treat him like one of the guys, so to speak. Right? After all, it wasn't like he could treat Kuroko like a girl in the first place, even if he knew how. Which he didn't.

He really didn't like feeling this powerless. But at the same time, it almost felt good to have a challenge, in the same sense that basketball was more fun when there was someone difficult to beat. He would figure this out somehow, find out what Kuroko likes and dislikes, try to make his first ever "real" relationship work.

The most bizarre thing was that he wasn't really getting himself into this to do anything sexual. Not that he thought Kuroko was undesirable, because that would be a lie. He just didn't make it a priority like he always did. Perhaps sex between two guys would be a novel experience…

"Ano, Aomine-kun?"

He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. "What?"

"Did you want to order something?" Kuroko asked, a slight smile on his face. "You've been staring really intently at the cashier for a while now."

"Oh," Aomine coughed lightly. If only Kuroko knew the kinds of things he was thinking about. "I'll just get whatever you're getting."

"So that'll be two regular burgers and two vanilla shakes, correct?" the man said, looking irritated.

Kuroko nodded, making a move to pull out his wallet.

_Oi, oi, just how much are you going to make me feel like the girlfriend here?_

"My treat," Aomine muttered, pulling out some bills from his pocket and handing it to the cashier first. The man simply blinked and thanked them, indicating that their food would be out soon.

"Thank you," Kuroko said, a small blush creeping into his face. "I…didn't really think about it."

Aomine frowned. From what it sounded like, Kuroko was used to that kind of thing, paying for others. Was it because the boy was too nice or did others take advantage of him? "You're already working a lot of part-time jobs as it is, aren't you? Just let me pay from now on. I don't mind…and I won't take no for an answer."

Kuroko seemed startled. "Aomine-kun…"

"Two burgers and two vanilla shakes out!"

Flow of conversation broken, Kuroko grabbed the tray and they went to sit down in the corner of the nearby fast food restaurant they had ended up at, since Aomine had become tired. Stupid crutches.

They sat facing each other and Aomine took a burger absentmindedly, unwrapped it, and took a small bite. He wasn't particularly hungry but he hadn't known what to do otherwise back then to spend more time with.

Kuroko's small hand reached out and took the shake first, sipping at it with a contentment that Aomine hadn't really seen before. It was almost as if Kuroko _radiated_ happiness for the brief second before he set the cup down.

He felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Clearing his throat, he asked nonchalantly, "Anyway, what were you saying?"

The light blue eyes suddenly turned downcast. "N-nothing."

Aomine's eyebrow twitched but he said nothing more on the matter, simply continuing to eat. An uncomfortable silence settled over the table as he tried to find the right words to say but Kuroko broke it first.

"Well…Aomine-kun, I want to know more about you. So…will you tell me some things about you?" Kuroko asked hesitantly, as if he was afraid of Aomine's answer.

"Hm...my birthday is on August 31st, I hate bees, and I'm blood type B," Aomine said casually. His eyes silently tracked Kuroko's trembling and fidgeting fingers. "You know, I'm getting the strangest feeling that you're getting more and more nervous being with me."

"Ah…it's been a while since I've gone out with anyone, so I guess I'm just…" Kuroko nodded a little, smiling to himself more than anything else. "I think I've forgotten how to act on a date. Besides, first dates are always so nerve-racking…"

Aomine choked. Could the boy get any cuter? It was almost frustrating, since he didn't know how to deal with things like this. And the answer was _not_ to just grab him and –

"Why don't _you_ tell me about yourself?" Aomine said quickly, trying to distract himself.

"My birthday is on January 31st, I like history and geography best in school, and I'm blood type A," Kuroko responded with a grin.

"Tch, you _would_ throw my words back in my face," Aomine grumbled. "Just talk about yourself. I'm sure you're better at talking than I am anyway."

"Okay…I live alone in an apartment that I rent, so I work…I think it's 4 part-time jobs, but I can't really think of all of them at the moment. I managed to study well enough in high school and got into college, but I don't know what I want to do with myself quite yet."

He said it all so simply that at first, he just seemed like any other kid. Then a million questions flooded Aomine's mind. Why was Kuroko living alone? 4 part-time jobs, perhaps more? Why Seirin?

"Is your apartment far from Seirin?" he found himself asking instead and wanted to hit himself. Of all the things he could have asked…

"I walk. I guess it's not too far."

Aomine winced. This was turning out to be like some sort of interrogation. He changed the subject again. "You know, you're a pretty talented basketball player. Teiko would have wanted to snatch up someone like you."

"I was trying to get a scholarship to go there, actually. But they…uh…they forgot about me," Kuroko said lightly, continuing to drink his shake. "During the tryouts, they decided on someone before I got the chance to play that day."

"Oi, you didn't say anything about it?"

"I figured it wasn't meant for me to get. I'm used to people not really noticing me."

Aomine said nothing, taking another bite of his burger to prevent himself from talking. He was guilty of the same thing, unable to detect Kuroko's uniquely weak presence.

"And I've decided to save up some money on my own anyway. If I can transfer, that way I'll have the money to do so. Even if I don't transfer, it's nice to have a little cash for later," Kuroko said, almost brutally honest. Then he blushed in embarrassment. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to say these kinds of things in a depressing way or anything."

"It's fine," Aomine muttered. "We're learning about each other right? I'm going to take that as a good thing."

Inwardly, it was difficult for him not to feel a little confused. He could never imagine being so invisible or so patient. In more ways than one, this kid was his opposite, mature where he probably wasn't, more independent on his own means through hard work, whereas Aomine had just drifted along enough in high school and managed to get an athletic scholarship so effortlessly. Compared to Kuroko, he felt like a complete underachiever who was overcompensated.

What especially didn't make sense to him was how Kuroko could manage to be so cheerful, so lighthearted. Here he was, talking about problems that seemed to only come out of dramas and such, yet he lived with what seemed like a lot of hope and faith, optimistic in a way that Aomine had trouble comprehending.

Aomine was so preoccupied with his musings that he nearly missed Kuroko's brilliant smile before it disappeared as briefly as it had shown on his face. It was an expression that far surpassed the vanilla-shake-grin, an expression that he didn't know was possible on such a normally impassive face.

He almost forgot to breathe.

"Smile again," Aomine found himself demanding.

"What?" Kuroko blinked.

"Smile again," he repeated.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Aomine-kun," Kuroko said, turning his face away.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Tetsu."

"It doesn't happen because I force it to. It just…does, sometimes."

"Well, you better not smile like that at anyone else." Aomine's eyes widened as the words left his mouth.

What the hell was he saying?! People did _not _say these kinds of things after _one_ date! He had known the kid for a grand total of just about ten days – and that was _really_ stretching it since he hadn't even seen him once since the first day until today. Was he really that big of a fool?

Yeah, probably.

"Let's go," Aomine said quickly standing up to pretend he wasn't feeling completely flustered by his own actions. "I'll walk you home."

"With a sprained ankle? No. Aomine-kun, I'll take _you_ home. Or at least back to Teiko, if you're living in a dorm."

"Tch, fine," Aomine muttered, readjusting the stupid sticks. "Yeah. I dorm."

That was definitely _not _a grin on his face.

[~ * ~]

"Kise. I hate you."

"Just be grateful that I managed to find another beanie in my bag, Midorimacchi!" Kise chuckled and Midorima merely shoved the sunglasses further up his face. "It's one thing for someone to have blond hair but yours is way too noticeable in a restaurant this small! One flash of that green head and Aomine would spot us right away."

Midorima's nostrils flared in disgust. "How can you wear this kind of thing in the first place? I feel like my head is being stuffed into a sock. It's abominable."

"You look good in it, though," Kise's voice sounded soft, sincere, as he looked at Midorima with his usual directness.

"T-that has nothing to do with it," Midorima stuttered, taken aback by the compliment. Why did he always let this cheerful, deredere idiot get to him so easily?

"Are you cold?"

"No!" Midorima said more loudly than he intended and immediately cleared his throat. "I mean, no. I'm not cold."

"If you're sure…" Kise grinned. "Hey, you have to shrink a little more. Look at how I'm sitting~"

"You could have done this all by yourself, you know. There was no need to drag me along with you," Midorima murmured, slouching as much as he could. It wasn't like he had any control over the fact that they were both over six feet tall. Plus, his posture was naturally as straight as a stick, especially since he had to maintain a perfect form for shooting. "Why the hell am I doing this again?"

They both knew the answer to that one.

Akashi.

With the claim that Murasakibara was far too tall – besides, he had that shockingly _violet_ hair – and that Akashi believed only two people needed to go, he had demanded that Kise and Midorima trail after the newly matched couple. Why Akashi himself didn't stalk them was beyond them, other than the fact that getting caught would end up in an awkward situation.

That probably explained it.

Akashi wanted a full report on how they were doing, with the simple reason of "because I can and I want to". Not that they would disobey him anyway. All of them wanted this to work out, since it wasn't exactly like two completely unrelated people had suddenly gotten together. Kise clearly wanted the boy named Kuroko to be happy, and Midorima…

Well, he wanted the blond to be happy.

Inwardly, he winced.

"You know, Kurokocchi is a lot cuter than I remember him to be," Kise mused, stealing glances at the two blue-haired boys sitting on the other side of the place. "You saw that hug back then, right? He never did anything like that with me~ He practically launched himself into Aominecchi's arms! Why didn't he do that to me.."

"Stop whining," Midorima said bluntly.

"So mean!" Kise cried, the oversized glasses slipping down his nose. The disguise did nothing to hide his good looks. If anything, it enhanced the golden glow of his eyes and made him appear even more like a model.

That wasn't cute or attractive at all. Really.

Midorima tore his gaze away from Kise' flawless face and looked over at Aomine, whose own face was so discomposed that it surprised him. Was Aomine seriously in love with that small boy? It was rather amazing to think about. Out of the five of them, Aomine was the most cynical one, not because of prior experiences but rather from the lack of them. And look at him now…

Aomine was already smitten. One look at the Ace of the Generation of Miracles, and it was obvious that he had finally met his match. He probably didn't know it, but the way he treated Kuroko was completely different from the way he treated his previous "girlfriends", though you couldn't really call them that.

"Oh, oh, look at that idiot! Aominecchi~ how can you just tell Kurokocchi to go when he didn't even start eating his burger? You are so thoughtless…" Kise whispered, nearly squishing his cup of soda. "Poor Kurokocchi, having to pack it up in his bag. Aghh, it makes me so irritated just watching you, Ahominecchi!"

"He does lack tact," Midorima agreed. To his surprise, Kise vehemently nodded, leaning closer to him with a passionate face.

"I know, right?"

"Sit down properly," Midorima mumbled, readjusting the sunglasses. "You're going to draw unwanted attention. Let's just stay quiet until they leave and follow them again."

"But man…Aominecchi is really cool," Kise sighed. "I wonder if I'll find anyone like that."

"What are you saying?" Midorima shot back quickly, startled. Was Aomine really Kise's type? Then why hadn't Kise ever tried to flirt or catch his attention? Midorima's mind raced, trying to come up with a logical conclusion.

"Well, I guess I said it wrong. I should have said I wonder if I'll ever be able to become someone like that," Kise amended. "Protecting someone you cherish, whether or not you know it…it's really something, you know? Aominecchi has his share of issues, but I seriously respect him for that, instinctively shielding Kurokocchi from pain…"

_You saying something like that is just as admirable…_

Midorima's eyes widened behind the tinted lenses and he absentmindedly took a sip of his drink, not really tasting anything. His fist clenched underneath the table, tightening the band-aid across his skin. It was so confusing. He didn't know why Kise of all people had to affect him like this.

The band-aid that Kise put on him…it made him self-conscious, as if Kise had somehow branded him. Which was definitely not the case. Did he wish it was? He honestly didn't know.

There was really no hope for someone like him anyway, even if he actually liked him just the _slightest _bit. Kise was the type of guy that was popular no matter where he went, attracting attention without meaning to most of the time. He had that special quality to him that drew people to him like a magnet, a happy-go-lucky personality that was so amiable.

Midorima was hopeless. If anything, he kept bullying Kise more and more as he became increasingly unsure of his feelings. Something about Kise's comments always made him feel defensive, as if he had something to hide.

Sighing, he said brusquely, "They're leaving."

"Ah, you're right," Kise said, watching the two exit the restaurant. "Let's go~"

Midorima nodded, saying nothing.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

If only he could believe that…

[~ * ~]

The sun was beginning to set, casting a blend of bright colors across the sky. It was slightly chilly as they walked in silence back to Teiko, which wasn't too far away. Riding the bus or the subway would just be a hassle for him, and taxis were nowhere in sight.

"Ah…"

The small sound caught Aomine's attention and he glanced over at Kuroko who was biting his lips. "What is it?"

"It's nothing."

"Just say it."

"Well…we just passed by a stationery store. I was just thinking I needed some things. Sorry," Kuroko murmured, fingers fidgeting.

"Then let's stop by for a bit," Aomine suggested, hobbling over to the door before Kuroko could argue. The boy clearly knew what he wanted but it seemed like he assumed Aomine would want something entirely different. He didn't really care, though Kuroko's behavior was rather perplexing to him. Maybe the boy was just really self-conscious. Huh.

"…Thank you." Kuroko opened the door and let Aomine walk through first. At seeing the small stool off to the side, Kuroko said, "Aomine-kun, would you mind taking a seat there and waiting for me? I'll be right back."

Aomine nodded and sat down, wrestling with his crutches for a bit before finally feeling comfortable.

He didn't want to go back to Teiko. It was the strangest feeling. Usually he was tired of staying out all the time but today, the last thing he wanted was to go back to his dorm.

He wanted to spend more time with…

"Aomine-kun?"

He looked up to see Kuroko looking rather flushed. "Yeah?"

"Can I see your phone?"

He blinked, silently pulling out his cell and handing it to the boy. Kuroko pushed a few buttons and returned it to him. After a few seconds, it finally struck him that Kuroko had given him his number.

"You beat me to it again," Aomine chuckled darkly, finding that Kuroko was the one who kept doing all the things that he should. While it wasn't quite a blow to his pride, it made him feel rather inadequate as a…well, boyfriend. Is that what they were? Boyfriends? He didn't really know. "I am really not on top of things today."

"No, no, it's okay," Kuroko said quickly, turning red. "I-I'll be back again."

He disappeared from sight and Aomine shrugged, closing his eyes.

From stranger to boyfriend in such a short time…it should have been ridiculous. Considering how all his friends seemed to know Kuroko, though, obviously he wasn't a bad guy. Even if he hadn't known that, the kid seemed harmless anyway.

But this situation would have been unimaginable several weeks ago. Maybe he was just getting swept away by a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. After all, the sky-blue-haired boy was the first ever male he had ever tried to be with in any relationship other than friendship. Not that the gender was important to him.

Was he in this just to experiment? He didn't think so.

And he still didn't know what he liked about Kuroko Tetsuya. Cute, direct, polite…those words didn't really cover it. The kid had a quality about him that kept drawing Aomine's attention, invisible presence and all.

"Aomine-kun? Are you asleep?"

"No," he said, opening his eyes at the whisper and coming face to face with Kuroko was merely a few inches away. "Holy shit!"

"Sorry," Kuroko said, blushing. "You looked really…relaxed, so I didn't want to talk too loudly."

_Really? Relaxed? Because I was thinking about you…_

"Is that so? Well, if you're done, we should go," Aomine said gruffly, more so than he intended, disturbed at his own thoughts.

"Okay…" Kuroko nodded.

_Vrrrt. Vrrrt. Vrrrt. Vrrrt. Vrrrt. Vrrrt._

"Aren't you going to answer?" Kuroko finally asked, and Aomine sighed.

"Then, excuse me," Aomine muttered, checking his phone. Who the hell was trying to contact him so frantically?

_4 new texts from Kise. 2 new voicemails from Kise._

Aomine rubbed the back of his neck in agitation. "Let's just go."

_Vrrrt. Vrrrt._

"I think you should respond," Kuroko suggested softly and Aomine groaned. "They seem like they really need to talk to you."

"Fine, fine."

_Ahominecchi!_

_Check your voicemail!_

_Hurry up!_

_I'm going to keep bothering you!_

"Kise, you bastard…" Aomine muttered and he heard Kuroko chuckle. He dialed voicemail and was immediately greeted by Kise's playful voice.

"_Ahominecchi! Are you really that much of an idiot?! Stop telling Kurokocchi 'let's go, let's go' or he'll think you hate him or something! You are such a bad boyfr- okay, okay, Midorimacchi, wait up!"_

_Click._

The next voicemail was nothing more than a whisper.

"_Ahominecchi! Seriously, do as I say now. You can thank me for it later. I probably know more than you about Kurokocchi as it is right now, but don't get jealous! I'm sure you guys will soon know more about each other. But I have a HUGE hint for you. Go win Kurokocchi a prize. You know what I mean. Just do it!"_

_Click._

"What the hell?" Aomine frowned, hating that he felt rather possessive about Kuroko. If he had to be honest, it _was_ a little awkward that Kuroko had gone out with Kise before, but no one seemed to harbor any bad feelings about it, so he tried to just shrug it off. Mates before dates and all that. But it looked like his friends fully supported him.

He turned to Kuroko. "It was nothing important. Sorry about that."

"It's no problem."

He glanced around him and saw the little crane machine outside the store. Was Kise stalking him or something? He must be, since he even knew what Aomine had been saying.

Still, it was incredibly embarrassing. He was sure he would never have done this for a girl. For anyone really. But for some reason, he found himself following Kise's orders anyway.

Dear God, he was losing his cool completely.

Feeling exasperated, Aomine shuffled over to the machine and beckoned Kuroko to come.

"What are you doing, Aomine-kun?"

"I dunno. I just had an urge to play," Aomine lied, inserting a coin. Randomly, he moved the controller around and pushed the button. As expected, just like basketball, it immediately produced a prize, a small white teddy bear. He supposed it was better than failing miserably at it, even if it posed no challenge for him.

"Wow, you actually got one," Kuroko blinked, surprised.

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, that sounded horrible. I meant that the machine was supposed to be broken. I come to this store a lot, and I've seen quite a few people complaining about it…congratulations! You must have really good luck…"

Mentally unprepared, Aomine did his best to swallow his pride, plucked the prize from the slot and handed it to Kuroko with all the finesse of a gorilla, his brain unable to put together a proper sentence. He winced at his robotic movements and embarrassment. "A present."

"R-really?"

"Yeah."

_It's why I played in the first place._ The words caught in his throat and he said nothing more.

To his surprise, Kuroko took the bear with a small whisper of "thanks" before all but quickly dashing ahead of him, pace so fast that Aomine couldn't possibly keep up with his crutches.

What the hell?

He did his best to catch up and found that by the time Kuroko finally stopped, they had already arrived at Teiko's campus.

"Tetsu! What the hell?"

Kuroko turned around, his face so red that Aomine was taken aback.

"I…am…so strangely happy right now," Kuroko admitted, holding the small bear in his pale hands. "I didn't know what to do back there so I just…ran for it."

"Shit," Aomine said, swiping a hand across his hot cheeks. "You…"

_You're so damned cute…_

"Thank you," Kuroko whispered again with a bright smile. "I actually have something for you too…"

He pulled out a small package from the bag he had gotten at the store, handing it to Aomine so quickly that he didn't even have time to think about it, fingers automatically opening it. A delicate looking cell phone strap with a basketball charm glistened from inside the wrapping.

"Mine's in the shape of a basketball hoop. It's…a matching pair," Kuroko turned even redder. "I just wanted to make sure I got you something…I don't know…maybe to celebrate our…first date…? I don't know what I was thinking…"

Aomine was rendered utterly speechless. No words would come out of his mouth as he stared at the strap. It was such a simple thing, yet…

"If you don't like it, I can return it-"

"Kuroko, come here," he said, his voice rough. With apprehension, Kuroko walked up to him.

"A-Aomine-kun?"

He awkwardly took hold of both crutches in his right hand, pulling Kuroko to him with his left and bringing him close to kiss him on the lips. A relatively innocent kiss, their lips merely pressed against each other, even as Aomine wanted to push things farther.

Kuroko broke their kiss first, stumbling backwards. He squealed, "I-I'll talk to you later! Good night!"

With that, he was gone.

Aomine found himself taking a deep breath as he made his way back to his dorm.

_Well, I'll be damned._

[~ * ~]

_**An omake of sorts: Kuroko's POV after the restaurant incident in Chapter One…**_

**Love at First Sight?**

At the center of the restaurant's attention, a group of five college students had joked around and talked the way friends so often did. Kuroko recognized three of them but his eyes had been immediately drawn to the one that seemed to be brooding off to the side, distancing himself slightly from the rest of them.

And before he knew it, his feet had taken him to that man's side.

With navy blue hair and eyes to match, the guy emitted an intense aura that made him appear overwhelmingly masculine, brimming to the top and overflowing with a potent mixture of confidence and power.

While Kuroko had faith in a human's ability to love and tried hard to find that someone, even he had been a little disbelieving of the concept of "love at first sight". But with this, he wasn't so sure anymore. His heart had never pounded so harshly and this kind of strong attraction for someone he didn't even know was utterly foreign to him.

It wasn't so much that the man was good-looking, though he certainly was. If he had to be honest, however, Kise was more handsome – or pretty, he should say – and Akashi gave off a stronger air. There was just _something_ about the dark-skinned man that drew him like a moth to a flame.

Which meant he'd probably get burned.

Kuroko sighed. This kind of thing was always getting in him trouble. He didn't exactly believe in the best of people or anything like that, but when it came down to matters of the heart, he was optimistic, almost to a fault. At least, that's what Kise-kun had told him.

Thinking back on it, it was a shame that he and Kise were better off as friends than as a couple. The blond was the one person who really understood how he felt. After all, they both believed that there had to be one person in the world who was destined to be for another person and vice versa. Love existed. It simply took a lot of effort to find said person and sometimes, one really had to try hard to make the relationship work.

Love was difficult. At least, that's what he thought.

Unfortunately, Kise was exactly the kind of person he imagined a brother to be like, so they had broken it off too easily. No tears, no regrets. They hadn't done anything more than a chaste kiss here and there anyway.

"Kuroko, stop spacing out!"

"Ah, sorry Kagami-kun," he said softly, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He grabbed the correct box and ran out of the storage room to hand it over to his friend and basketball team member.

"Tch, took you long enough. Do you wanna switch shifts?" Kagami offered, packing up the Air Jordans and turning to the customer with something he probably considered a smile. "Thank you for shopping with us-"

The customer practically raced for the entrance and Kagami shrugged.

"I heard from Hyuga-senpai that you were spacing out today at the restaurant. He seemed pissed he had to give away a free desert," Kagami said, frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"He told you about it?" Kuroko's cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

"We're all in the same team. Of course we're bound to tell each other things like that."

"_Oi, oi, why are you a waiter if you don't even have the strength to carry anything?"_

_Aomine caught him easily, his long arms wrapping around him, as Kuroko tried to regain his balance. His face was buried against the unyieldingly firm chest as he fell against Aomine's large frame, clutching his waist for support…_

"Why are you blushing?!"

Kuroko snapped out of his thoughts and absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face turn hot. "Sorry. It's nothing."

"Are you feeling sick? You should just go home."

"No, I'm fine. I'll…just go wash my face. I think I'm just…tired," Kuroko fibbed, heading to the restroom. The moment he stood in front of the sink, he turned on the cold water and scooped it in his hands, splashing it over his red cheeks.

In one fateful meeting, he had managed to not only _find_ a person but from what he could tell, the man was kind despite his overwhelming presence and somewhat intimidating physical features. He had helped him with his work and caught him when he fell.

Still, he was probably just being naïve. He knew nothing about the guy other than the fact that he knew his friends, who were all very…unique in their own ways.

But he wanted to meet him again.

_If I really do get to see him a second time, I'm going to take my chances and see if it works out. _

* * *

**Author's Note: **I personally don't understand how Aomine turned out to be so tsundere because that wasn't my intention! I think that when I try to write a gruff and ruthless character in a romantic light, it just turns out that way. OTL Maybe he's not even tsundere…I don't know…*shakes head*

I crammed a lot into this chapter, I know. But I wanted to make it extra-long for all of my readers, because I really love you all~

That said…I must have a lot of self-confidence issues because every time I publish a chapter, it's so nerve-racking and…yeah, I get really nervous about how people will think about it. Hopefully you guys are actually enjoying it T3T

Leave a review, ne?


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! Once again, I want to thank all of my supportive readers. I really appreciate everyone's comments on here as well as on Tumblr and I just want to hug you all~!

AnjoRemix: Thank you for your review! And I did look back at Chapter 4…I'm a bit upset at how I wrote it now that I read it, but I didn't fully grasp Kuroko's character until recently (reading bits of manga here and there) so I see that he's indeed really uke, which I don't like too much…Thank you for pointing it out! I'm not sure how to fix that now…T.T But I'll try to make things work in this chapter :D

meep: I totally get what you mean, so no worries! I'm just too impatient of a writer so things just happen really fast. Such a terrible habit OTL but I'll try to make it a little more realistic…though I'm not entirely confident in my abilities to be able to do so…What I was going for was that Kuroko was the kind of person who really, REALLY wants to fall in love even though he doesn't seem like the kind of person…*fails*

THANK YOU EVERYONE! I really appreciate every single review! Whenever I read one, I just have all these fluttery feelings that make me excited to write the next chapter…

Anyways, yeah…I know I'm awful at updates and I'm really sorry. I don't even have any excuses to give you, other than the fact that I had my first college app due on November 1st. But…

Enjoy nonetheless!

**Warning: DRAMA**. As in things are starting to get serious, though of course it'll still be pretty fluffy and cute…and it is (probably very) **OOC. **Possibly a little angst. Also lots of internal monologue…T3T It might be fast-paced because I'm getting impatient…gomenosai

Don't say I didn't warn you.

**Then I Found You**

* * *

_Chapter 5 – In which Aomine takes the lead_

_(Also in which Kise's thoughts are revealed - confession)_

* * *

Kuroko kept running until his lungs felt like they were going to explode, eventually arriving at the rather rundown place he called home. Puffs of air escaped him in short bursts as he tried to calm down, opening the door with his key and plopping down on the floor of his tiny apartment. He stretched out on his back and stared at the ceiling, utterly bewildered.

_He kissed me._

_He kissed me._

_He KISSED me._

And he was acting like an idiot.

A soft, little chuckle escaped him anyway. He felt exhilarated, like the way he sometimes did when he stepped out on to basketball court, the adrenaline rush making him high.

It wasn't even like he had never been kissed before, so it shouldn't be affecting him this way. But this time, it felt different. Special. Sure, it had been awkward, clumsy, and completely chaste, just the barest brushing of their lips together. Yet Kuroko found his hand jerking upwards to feel the spot where he could have sworn he still felt the warmth of Aomine's lips on his, like a girl might do.

His other hand held the little white bear, and he found himself grinning stupidly, his face actually hurting from the strain of the muscles that he didn't use very often. This was so beyond what he had expected that it was making him go a little insane. It had to be wrong to feel this happy after just one date.

Wrong…_wrong…_

At that, he sobered, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. He stared at the bear and sighed.

What was he doing, acting like such an idiot all over again? He was taking things too seriously all by himself, falling so fast and being so hopeful.

_It looks like I still haven't learned my lesson…_

Maybe he was just so anxious to find love, so anxious to want to believe in it, that he was rushing this just like every other time. But was it really so wrong to desire someone to cherish him? Cheesy, he knew. At his age, hormones and all, he should be more focused on fulfilling lust than love. Besides, love was an ideal that most people believed was impossible. And sometimes he himself had trouble with it. He'd had his share of failures, some infinitely worse than others, when it came to relationships.

Yet he wanted so badly to believe that Aomine was the one.

He honestly didn't know what it was. The dark skinned basketball player was, to be sure, a very charismatic person in his own way, solemn and brooding. At the same time, it was more than that. For the first time ever, Kuroko was instantly attracted without even knowing the guy's sexual orientation. He himself had made the first move.

Exhilarating yet so intimidating…

If he were honest with himself, it frightened him a little.

_Vrrrt. Vrrrt._

Startled, Kuroko reflexively grabbed the phone from his pocket and immediately responded, "Hello?"

"_Are you at home now, Tetsu?"_

Goosebumps rose on Kuroko's arms as he heard the deep, husky voice. He clutched the phone more tightly to his face, trying to remain impassive, trying to be calm, and failing. "A-Aomine-kun?"

"_Yeah, it's me."_

"Sorry, I didn't check the caller ID so I didn't know it was you…"

"_Oh."_

A brief silence settled between them and Kuroko chewed on his bottom lip, thinking about what he should say when Aomine spoke first.

"_You left fast." _Surprisingly, the sudden words weren't accusatory, just matter-of-fact.

"Sorry…" Kuroko's face heated. "I was just…"

"_Embarrassed?"_

"A little."

"…_You don't have to be, considering I'm your…boyfriend and all."_

The words – one word in particular – made his cheeks even hotter. He fidgeted with the stuffed animal in his hand but his voice was steady as he asked, "I understand…so…um…Why did you call?"

"_I just wanted to talk, I guess, at least to tell you to have a good night's sleep or something. But are you okay with me using up your minutes and stuff?"_

"Ah, don't worry about that," Kuroko said quickly. "I don't mind if you call or text me often."

"_Oh, okay…" Cough. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind. Are you going to sleep now?"_

"No. I usually study around this time."

"_Oi, it's late."_

"I know."

"_Damn. I'm not sure if I should be telling you not to work yourself too much or if I should cheer you on to study hard…"_

Kuroko chuckled softly, warmth spreading inside his chest from the concern audible in Aomine's words. "Don't worry. I appreciate it either way."

"_I don't want to keep you away from your studies, so send me a text when you're finished."_

"I won't be done for a while though…"

"_It's fine. Just text me whenever."_

"If you're sure…well, good night, Aomine-kun."

"_Sleep as soon as you can. Good night, Tetsu."_ The voice was like warm honey, smooth and sweet. It was something Kuroko could get addicted to.

And that was dangerous.

He clutched the bear close to his chest and closed his eyes, Aomine immediately appearing in his vision in his gruff manner, the small smile on his face loosening the tension that always seemed to furrow the dark eyebrows. Kuroko kept wanting to hear the huskiness of Aomine's raspy voice…

Definitely dangerous. He let out another sigh.

But Aomine's words niggled at his brain. It had to be just a coincidence. In fact, he should be honored, in a way, that Aomine called him by a nickname so early on in their relationship. Cutting off an "unnecessary" syllable was usually how people addressed each other informally, right? It must be a common custom. That was probably why Aomine had called him "Tetsu" even back at the basketball game. Maybe Aomine was just that kind of person, keeping things casual.

Of all things though…

Why did Aomine have to call him by the nickname his ex used?

[~ * ~]

_Vrrrt. Vrrrt. _

Goddamn. Aomine's arm lurched out of bed to grab the source of his annoyance, checking the time. His eyes widened in shock but it took too much effort to keep them open, so he half-closed his lids again. Who the hell was crazy enough to wake him up at 3 in the morning? He was tempted to fling the phone against the wall when he realized he was the one who told Kuroko to text him.

Holy shit. Didn't that mean Kuroko just finished studying? Aomine groggily checked the message.

_Sent you a text._

He found himself chuckling, a little frustrated at the simplicity of it. But it was…well, it was a little cute, if he had to admit it. With that, he called him back and he heard Kuroko's soft voice on the other end.

"_Hello, Aomine-kun."_

"Hey." Aomine's voice was raspy, even more so than usual. He tried to clear his throat but to no avail. "You're gonna go to sleep now?"

"_Yes…"_

Swallowing hard, Aomine asked, "Do you have some time tomorrow?"

"_I have a couple of hours. Why?"_

"Well, if you do…let's go on a date or something, whatever you call it…"

_Silence._

"Oi, if you don't want to, all you have to do is say no-"

"_No…"_

Aomine blinked, feeling the one emotion he very rarely experienced: embarrassment. Good thing the boy couldn't see his face. Rejection was something alien, something just as unfamiliar to him as a relationship like this, but he decided he didn't appreciate it much. Not at all. "Alright then."

"_Wait, that's not what I meant-"_

"I got it the first time," Aomine muttered. "No need to explain-"

"_I'm sorry, that's not what I meant at all. I meant 'no, I do want to'…I just couldn't say it fast enough. I was surprised to hear it…but I'm happy…"_

"Oh."

"_Ne, Aomine-kun…why do I feel as though you're…"_

Aomine waited for Kuroko to finish but there was only silence. "I'm what?"

"_Well…you seem nervous. And I don't mean to make you embarrassed or anything, it's just…well, I'm nervous too."_

He was at a loss for words.

Why was Aomine taking this all so seriously anyway? He had only come face to face with Kuroko twice so far, really, if one counted the restaurant incident and the convoluted basketball-game-turned-into-a-date situation. There was no reason for his heart to beat any faster or to feel such an adrenaline rush.

He was freaking gay. Gay. Actually, he was bi. Even so, it was something he'd never expected, though he wasn't particularly bothered by it. He and his friends were all pretty open to just about anything. Still…

"Tetsu," he said, using his husky voice to his advantage. He had to be more…more _manly_, damn it. It was like Kuroko was the dominant one in this relationship, and it irked him to no end. "Why would I be nervous? You should be careful about what you say…What if I was just acting nice this whole time? After all, I could just be after one thing. And I think you know what I mean by that."

He didn't know where this was coming from. But he was sounding more like his ore-sama self than before, whether that was a good thing or not.

"…_Are you talking about sex?"_

Aomine nearly fell off his bed. Somehow, that innocent boy managed to say the word he was merely hinting at. Maybe Kuroko wasn't as naïve as he'd thought. Or maybe it was just that the kid was super straightforward.

"What else would I be talking about…"

"_Well…I think maybe you'd be more bothered than me…"_

He choked. Why the hell were they having this conversation?! And there was absolutely no _way_ Aomine was feeling more flustered than Kuroko right now. That couldn't possibly happen. But in all honesty, he'd never had sex with a guy before so…

Did that mean Kuroko had already…

Aomine brushed aside the thoughts that were making him strangely upset.

"Anyway, Tetsu, when are you free?" he switched the subject abruptly, needing to stay in control, to stay sane.

"_From 5 to about 8:30. I have a late shift tomorrow which starts from 9 to midnight."_

The dark eyebrows furrowed in concern. "And you're sure you wouldn't rather just sleep then?"

"_You're not romantic at all, Aomine-kun."_

"Well, sorry for being concerned-"

The voice that whispered into his ear was quiet. _"I like that you're worried about me…Thank you."_

Aomine rubbed the back of his neck in agitation (or was it embarrassment?), lips quirking up anyway. "Tch. Whatever you want, Tetsu. I'll pick you up at your house at 5-"

"_No. I don't want you to come here. Let's just meet up somewhere else."_

"Are you trying to strip of my manhood entirely?" Aomine asked flatly, exasperated. He never knew what the kid was thinking.

"_It's not that I don't like the idea of you taking care of me and playing the gentleman's role…It's just that I…well, I'm worried about you too. I don't want you to come over here with a sprained ankle, hobbling the way you do on your crutches-"_

"I sound fantastic when you describe me that way."

A gentleman? Him?

Kuroko's soft chuckle brought a smile to his own face. And even though Aomine had retorted back sarcastically, inexplicable warmth spread across his chest at hearing the concern in Kuroko's voice. Was that what Kuroko meant?

"_Where were you planning to go?"_

What?

Aomine stared at the blackness of his room, stunned by the simple question, even though he shouldn't be. Just where had he planned to take the boy? He really needed to think these kinds of things through first before blurting out a random suggestion to go somewhere.

"Well, obviously, I was going to make it a surprise," he fibbed, trying to think of places to take people on a date where they'd have some privacy.

He could hear the smile in Kuroko's words. _"Okay. I'll meet you at the entrance of Teiko. Is that alright?"_

"Yeah. I'll see you at 5 then," he mumbled.

"_Good night, Aomine-kun."_

"G'night, Tetsu. Sweet dreams."

_Click._

He stared up at the ceiling, eyes completely adjusted to the darkness and wide open. If this was the way love felt like…it wasn't so bad. He supposed it took effort, a lot of it. And while he didn't know for sure if he _loved_ Kuroko Tetsuya, he was sure as hell going to try to. If that fragile-looking blue-haired waiter boy could make him feel something, whatever people described as the emotion of love, he wasn't going to let it slip past him.

Was Aomine the naïve one? Maybe…

Pushing his thoughts aside, he focused on the matter at hand. Where the hell was he supposed to take Kuroko on a date? He had never really been on one, sad as that was. He couldn't even reference any chick flicks because the closest he'd come to seeing love on screen was, ahem, porn. That didn't bode too well for him.

But before he knew it, he was already dialing up Kise.

"_Kise! Turn off your damned phone!"_ Aomine recognized Midorima's voice all too well in the background. _"This is why I should never have let Akashi do whatever he wanted…Dorming with you is insanity…"_

"_Gomen, gomen, Midorimacchi~ Ne, Aominecchi…the sun hasn't even risen yet…what do you want?"_

"Sorry for waking you up," Aomine said gruffly. "But…shit, I need help."

"_What is it?"_ the voice was suddenly attentive as though Kise was genuinely troubled. _"Are you okay?"_

"I didn't realize that I'd called you so early."

"_That's okay. I'm already awake. Talk to me."_

Aomine felt ridiculous but it was too late to go back now. "I need ideas."

"_Ideas?"_

"I need ideas for dates."

"…_Aominecchi, are you serious?! For Kurokocchi, right? Oh my~"_

"I'm going to kill you."

"_Sorry, sorry."_ The cheerful voice grated on his nerves as Kise crowed in glee. _"I just can't believe it!"_

"Just get on with it," Aomine sighed, his eyebrows twitching in frustration. One of these days, he was seriously going to strangle the way-too-cheerful blond.

"_Well, I know more about dates with girls in general but I'm pretty sure with Kurokocchi, you can do just about anything, because I know he-"_

"Tell me only what I asked you to. I don't care about what happened between you and Tetsu back then. It's not like I want to repeat what you did," Aomine snapped. No. He wasn't jealous. He was just simply…protective. What was his was his. The last thing he wanted was for Kise to get some weird idea in his head to try to get back together with the bluenette…

Speaking of which, what the hell was Aomine thinking, getting all suspicious like that?

Clearly, he wasn't, since he was on the phone with Kise of all people, trying to get advice on, well, dating. Aomine had absolutely no clue on where to take anyone other than to a bedroom, hotel room, and the like. He doubted that that was hardly appropriate for a real relationship. Plus, even in that case, he was out of his element. Sure, he knew what part of a guy felt good, since he was one. But that hardly gave him any experience to deal with having sex with another guy though.

The weirder thing was that, somehow, their pasts were all intertwined. He wondered how Kise felt to see Kuroko with him now. Was he breaking some social code here? Probably…

"_Sounds like you do~"_

"Bastard." There was no bite in his tone, though, since it really was his fault for waking Kise up at such an ungodly hour. Aomine exhaled loudly, irritated at everything.

"_Okay, okay, no need to get all defensive! I would suggest you take him on the 'standard date'."_

"What is that?"

The giggle on the opposite end of the phone call made Aomine want to tear his hair out in frustration. At least he could trust Kise to keep most of this private, since it wasn't like he could ask Akashi (hell no) or Murasakibara (probably even worse than Akashi). Midorima was out of the question...yet he was probably overhearing everything anyway.

Screw this.

"_Okay, don't be mad, Aominecchi. I actually don't know Kurokocchi all that well in a romantic sense. I've been friends with him for years but I only dated him for a week or so before we realized we're too, well, friendly with each other. Just think of him as a girl. What I meant by a standard date was this. You have a nice dinner at some place he doesn't work at. After that, you take Kurokocchi to a movie, horror if you want him to hold your hand when he's afraid or something, or romance if you want to get in the mood, if you know what I'm saying."_

"I'm listening."

"_Pfft, I can't believe you just said that,"_ Kise chuckled. _"Well, I'm sure you're a romantic at heart, seeing as how you're trying so hard to make your first real date a good one."_

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Aomine grumbled. "I don't get any of this."

"_And that's okay. You guys are cute together. He seems to really like you, so unless you mess up big time, you'll be fine. Also, buy him a small present, nothing too extravagant. I'd normally recommend a few flowers, but seeing as how you can't actually carry them…"_

"Okay, I think I got it. So dinner and movies?"

"_Well, basically yes." _

"Tch, you could have just said that from the beginning."

"_But that's no fun~"_

"I hate you."

"_Meanie."_

But thanks to Kise, he finally knew what to do with himself. "I owe you one."

"_Not at all, though now that you mention it…"_

"Shut it."

"_Fine. Go back to sleep if you can, Aominecchi. Bye." Click._

Sure. Like that was going to happen. Aomine pulled up the memo app on his phone and tried to brainstorm what he could possibly get that would top Kuroko's own present for him.

That's right…

Aomine reached for his neck where a thin but sturdy chain held the basketball charm. He never treated his phone very kindly – he'd wanted to throw it after all – so he had been afraid he'd break the keychain. It seemed really fragile and he'd decided to wear it as a kind of necklace instead.

As cheesy as it was, that meant the charm was closest to his heart. Wasn't that just _cute._

He felt the mini-basketball between his two fingers, small, nearly invisible, yet so _there. _It was kind of like Kuroko himself, actually.

What to get, what to get…

[~ * ~]

"You know Aomine treats you like crap, don't you?"

"Midorimacchi~ don't be mean. I'm sorry he woke you up," Kise smiled winningly, the soft glow of the lamp illuminating the irritated features of their school's #1 shooter. He pouted, chin down, staring up at the male with larger-than-normal eyes. "And I'm sorry I didn't set my phone to silent."

"Tch, I'm going back to sleep."

Kise laughed silently to himself as he watched the green head turn around to face the wall. He was well aware of the fact that Midorima was incapable of going back to sleep when he'd been woken up. But the smile slowly faded from Kise's face as his features became much more serious, lips settling into a straight line as his eyes widened back to their normal shape, no longer crinkled in the usually friendly manner.

After all, that was how Kise really was.

People called him gay just based on his attitude. And that was fine. He got made fun of but never really in a harmful way, so he didn't mind. He liked being with people, liked making friends, liked keeping them. It was fun to be cheerful, to play around (not like that!), to make jokes and laugh. A true Gemini, Midorima might say. He liked socializing, partying, chattering…Girls – and guys alike – adored him for his looks, something he'd been blessed with. A part-time job as a model was no mean feat, indeed. Being popular had its ups and downs but for the most part he enjoyed it.

If he had to be honest, it was tiring to stay chipper and perky all the time though, by this point, he'd developed what seemed to be two different personalities. He simply kept the hyper one dominant, letting himself only be this serious when he knew he was completely and utterly alone. Like now.

This was wrong, he knew. Not just keeping himself hidden from everyone but…

It had been him who asked Akashi to switch. And it was him who begged his sadistic leader to say _he_ was the one who wanted to, all to be roommates with…

It was wrong to like a friend this way. After all, Midorima probably thought he was safe with him, safe sleeping in front of him like this, because they dormed together. They were members of the same team, childhood friends, kids who had grown up together and become so close they should have been like brothers.

Truth was…Kise liked Midorima. More than as a friend. Good thing Kise slept like a rock, otherwise Midorima might be disturbed – really disturbed – at the way his dreams turned out sometimes. But it wasn't like he slept a whole lot anyway. He preferred to watch Midorima drift off, whether in bed or on his desk, his sleeping features so peaceful it was almost unbelievable.

God, he was such a creep. Not to mention, Kise loved putting a blush on the usually pale and emotionless cheeks. He didn't know if Midorima would ever feel something more than friendship for him, but Kise loved knowing that many little things were capable of flustering the tsundere.

The way those green eyes had softened when Kise had treated his hand…the fiery bloom of color that had spread on his face…Kise could only be grateful that, back then, when he'd patted his head, Midorima hadn't been disgusted or overly disturbed.

And then there had been Midorima wearing _his_ beanie, looking sinfully handsome complete with the sunglasses. Sometimes Kise didn't understand why people didn't see what he did. The compliment Kise had given him hadn't nearly been enough, but Midorima acted as though he'd never heard anything like that before in his life. Did people not see how cute, how handsome, how adorable the green-haired shooter was? Between the two of them, Midorima should be the model, since he was taller and better looking. Yet Kise didn't want to have to see fangirls clinging to the other male either…

Kise buried his face into his hands, face flushing. This was just so _wrong._

What was even worse was that he tried to make Midorima jealous, constantly talking about Kuroko and Aomine. But how could he make someone jealous when they clearly didn't have those kinds of feelings for him? It was so pointless, so hopeless.

Was he a masochist, inflicting all this on himself? Probably.

"Kise."

And just like that, as though a switch turned on his brain, he replied back brightly, "Hai?"

"This is all hypothetical…"

Kise blinked. "Sure, okay. What is it, Midorimacchi?"

"…Let's say you like somebody..."

The blond swallowed hard, surprised at the sudden topic change. "Okay."

"And they seemed to like someone else. I mean, it makes sense that they do."

"Mmhmm…"

Midorima's taped fingers reached out to pull the blankets up higher. "What should you do?"

"Well, that depends."

"What's the point in telling that person that you like them when you know that they like someone else?" Midorima asked, impatience audible in the low voice.

Kise bit his lip. "Sometimes it's hard to hold all your feelings back, you know? So maybe you'd have to tell them before you explode…or something like that~"

"Really," Midorima responded skeptically. "And that's worth the problems that follow?"

"Then maybe it'd be better to double check that person's feelings for the other person," Kise said softly. "You never know, right? It's risky to confess, but it might be more risky not to say anything. It's always best to be honest when it comes to this kind of thing."

Yeah. Great advice coming from him, the world's greatest hypocrite. It was hard not to berate himself.

Kise shook his head. "Ne, Midorimacchi, why are you asking me?"

"I-It's none of your business, Kise. Just go back to sleep."

"If you say so~"

"Idiot."

"Meanie…you're starting to sound like Aominecchi!"

"Good _night._"

**Meanwhile…**

Midorima's face was uncomfortably hot as he stared at the wall opposite the other bed where he knew the model was at. He didn't know if Kise was staring at him – the blond had every right to after he'd asked such silly questions – but he could have sworn he felt his gaze at his back.

What in the world had caused him to say those kinds of words? It wasn't as though Midorima liked him…

_No, No, NO__**.**_

He was going insane. Even after what felt like hours later, he was stuck, frozen in his position, lying down on his side away from Kise. What was he afraid of? He didn't know, but he didn't want to see the kind of expression Kise would have on his face. Would it be worry? Concern? Amusement? He didn't want to deal with any of it.

"Ne, Midorimacchi, you're still awake aren't you?"

"Why would I tell you-" He sighed, realizing that he'd answered anyway. "I couldn't go back to sleep."

"If you ever need to talk, I'm here. I mean, I know that I might not seem like the most trustworthy person but…I'm all ears." Kise's voice was quiet, soft, beguiling.

That wasn't what he'd expected at all. Laughter, the sound of a smirk, those kinds of things he could understand…but this…

"There are some things even you probably couldn't handle," Midorima muttered, fidgeting with the tape on his fingers. "But…I suppose I have to thank you for the offer. Maybe next time…or something."

"Anytime."

"Hey, Kise," Midorima blurted anyway.

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever liked someone?"

Silence.

"Forget what I said," Midorima said quickly, about to yank the blanket completely over his head. "I may have crossed the line, so I apologize-"

"Yeah."

Midorima's arm froze in their air. "How…how did it feel?"

"You tsundere~ So cute~ Are you getting all curious about _looove_?"

At the teasing response, Midorima sighed. That was Kise for you. He supposed he had to be glad that the blond could so easily lighten up an awkward mood.

"It's…not the rainbows and unicorns and sunshine every day that people might think…but it's nice to see the person' s face and talk to them even if they don't…if they won't…if they can't understand…"

Midorima's eyes widened. Kise sounded surprisingly serious, almost desolate. Was it possible that the blond really did like who Midorima thought he might?

Did Kise…did Kise really like Aomine? It would make so much sense. They all knew how much Aomine seemed to be getting wrapped up with Kuroko. If Kise liked him, it would only cause him pain, since Aomine most likely would never see Kise the same way. That was near impossible now.

Was that how it was?

Aomine treated Kise how a best friend would. And that made sense. The two of them had something that ran a little deeper than just friendship. As Kise's mentor who brought out his passion for basketball, Aomine probably played a different role in his life. Who else could call Kise whenever they wanted? Even Akashi wouldn't.

Above all, Kise admired Aomine like no other and not just his skills. The blond looked up to him so much…

Midorima blinked. What was this feeling? It made him sick to his stomach.

"Well, don't be a fool, Kise. Just tell the person," Midorima found himself saying, more than a little horrified. What was he doing? "It'll hurt whether you tell them or not, right? Besides, you were the one who told me just now that honesty is the best policy."

He found that he'd rather have Kise confess and get it off his chest. Would that make it worse? What did he hope to achieve? To be the one to comfort him in the end?

That was ridiculous.

"Even…"

"Even what?" Midorima finally gathered his wits and turned around to face Kise, only to be shocked by the stoic expression on the usually cheerful face. It was almost painful to see the handsome face become so rigid. Even without his glasses, he could tell something was wrong, could see that the face was contorted into an expression he'd never seen before.

What…what was going on? There was no sign of a smile, nothing. Kise was completely, utterly _serious. _Midorima squinted a little, wondering if it was just his vision. But it wasn't.

"Even…" Kise stopped.

Midorima waited. Seeing the blond struggling to speak was doing funny things to his chest.

"Even…if that person is you?"

[~ * ~]

**4:00 P.M.**

He was a dumbass.

Aomine checked his phone compulsively, constantly checking the time as though that would make the minutes go by faster. What was he thinking, coming out here with an hour to spare? He should have gone back to his dorm if he wanted to waste time like this.

It's a courtesy to be early. It's being polite. It's being gentlemanly.

Yeah.

He sat down on the ground awkwardly, laying down the crutches beside him in a haphazard manner. Nothing could have made him look stranger than he did, except maybe if he had a bouquet of flowers to top it all off.

"Isn't that Aomine Daiki?"

"It's the ace of Teiko's basketball team!"

"He's so dreamy~"

"And, oh my God, just look at that tan! He looks so calm and cool~"

"Who do you think he's waiting for?"

"Who knows? Lucky girl…"

Giggle, giggle.

The two girls walking past him were rather pretty, with voluptuous figures that were hard to find. Yet, surprisingly enough, he felt nothing but desire. And that desire wasn't directed at the girls at all.

Could the mind be fooled? Or was it the mind that was doing the fooling?

Because all he could think about was Kuroko. And that was beyond bizarre. He wondered what it felt like to have sex with a guy. Other than the mouth, there was only one place he could possibly think of…

He shook his head. It was going to take a little bit more time to get used to that idea. But he wasn't disgusted, so he supposed that was a good thing.

What the hell was he thinking?

"I had a feeling you'd come out early."

Aomine snapped out of his thoughts to stare up at Kuroko who smiled down at him with a hand stretched out, soft-looking lips curving lightly.

"Tch," Aomine grinned, reaching out and taking the slender hand in his even though he put most of the pressure on himself to get up anyway. He brushed off his ass absentmindedly and retorted, "You're the early one. Didn't you say you had work?"

"My boss noticed I wasn't doing any of my work properly so he just told me to go home early and hopefully I'd be in my right state of mind tomorrow," Kuroko replied sheepishly, his cheeks tinged pink. "I guess I was a little…distracted…"

Aomine smirked, hiding his own embarrassment. "Well, then, let's go…seeing as how you're this excited about it."

"You finally figured out where you want to take me?" Kuroko teased back.

He said nothing, merely hobbling away. What would the boy do? He couldn't help his curiosity as he heard Kuroko chase after him, pulling on his sleeve to make him stop. Aomine turned around slowly, eyebrow raised.

"A-Aomine-kun, I didn't mean to make you mad or anything-"

"Pfft, I just wanted to see your reaction, that's all," Aomine admitted, chuckling at the wide, baby blue eyes. "I'm not mad. Besides, I can take jokes like that, easy. What are you scared of?"

His tone was light but Kuroko seemed to stiffen a little before smiling again. "Ah, I suppose I'm just paranoid then."

With that, they walked in silence to the bus stop. Well, that was a little weird. What had he said that made Kuroko so upset? The boy had looked more panicked than he would have expected. Maybe Kuroko was a little frazzled by nerves…?

But before Aomine could think much about it, the shuttle came to a screeching halt in front of them, driving those thoughts out of his mind. A middle-aged man stood up to let him sit, and he groaned, setting his crutches beside him.

"Are you comfortable?"

Aomine found Kuroko standing right next to him, pale hands clutching the seat as the bus began moving again.

"You wanna sit on my lap?" Aomine smirked.

"No," Kuroko answered bluntly and immediately but his cheeks reddened anyway and Aomine laughed, patting his thigh.

"It'll be comfortable…"

"I…prefer to stand, thank you."

But Aomine felt Kuroko move closer to him anyway. Now, Kuroko's free hand was limply hanging from his side, so he reached out, taking his hand in his darker one.

"Aomine-kun?" Kuroko twitched a little in surprise.

"Shh."

For the next10 minutes, they said nothing, just holding hands the entire way to the movie theater. Kuroko's hand was cold and slightly clammy but Aomine didn't mind, interlacing their fingers together.

Eventually, they got off and Aomine regretted having to let go.

"There's only two new movies," he muttered, fighting the urge to shove his hands into his pockets. His hand felt strangely empty but it wasn't like he could make Kuroko embarrassed with PDA. Well, he could but he didn't want to. "Choose."

"…"

He watched Kuroko's eyes scan the poster for the latest chick flick and drift over to the horror movie's advertisement and back.

"If you can't choose, I will," Aomine said gruffly.

Kuroko shook his head. "Let's watch the horror movie."

Dammit.

To be honest, he wanted Kuroko to choose the romantic comedy so they could sit quietly in a corner and get into a good mood for dinner. And he wasn't entirely sure how well _he_ would be able to stay calm during a horror movie. But he supposed he was okay with it if Kuroko was. He shrugged carelessly.

"Alright."

Aomine reached for his wallet to pay when he saw Kuroko pulling out enough money to cover for the two of them.

"Oi," Aomine said, frowning a bit. "I thought I told you I'd pay for everything."

"Ah, sorry, Aomine-kun…Old habits die hard," Kuroko mumbled, shoving his wallet away in a slightly frantic motion.

Dark navy blue eyebrows furrowed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The smaller male smiled at him. "Just…nervous."

With one last glance at him to make sure he was okay, Aomine handed the money over to receive the two movie tickets. They walked into the designated theater room with surprisingly little trouble, considering it was dark and he had crutches.

He sat down on the edge seat and Kuroko took his seat to the right of him.

"Aomine-kun, there's actually something I need to tell you-"

The dimmed lights turned off completely as ugly sounds started streaming through the loud speakers. A bone-chilling melody began playing and Aomine tried to rub the goosebumps away. He looked over at Kuroko who sat rigidly in his chair, eyes glued to the screen.

"Tetsu?"

Usually horror movies weren't his thing. He didn't like the kind of adrenaline rush he felt. But now, all he could do was glance at Kuroko to make sure he was all right.

"Oi, Tetsu, look at me."

Kuroko's eyes slid over to meet the darker blue ones. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Aomine asked slowly, whispering. He was only startled when Kuroko leaned in close to respond in his ear.

"I wanted to tell you that I like horror movies a lot but I react badly to them."

"So this is…fine?"

Kuroko simply nodded. Aomine returned his attention to the screen when he felt something poke at his thigh. He reached down to grab whatever it was but it turned out to be a cold, small, strong hand, one that he'd held on the bus. His eyes widened a little in shock but he didn't turn to look at the boy. Their fingers intertwined together.

"_AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"_

They both jumped at the sudden death scene and their grip on each other tightened. Their eyes met and Aomine chuckled a little, relaxing his hold. The tension seemed to leave Kuroko as well.

They didn't let go for the entire movie.

[~ * ~]

_**Omake **_

**Presents**

"That was a very…gruesome movie."

"You chose it."

They were both too full of energy to calm down, nerves frazzled. Luckily for Aomine, though, he had been adequately distracted by holding Kuroko's hand.

After the movie, Aomine had taken him to a decent restaurant where he had managed to book a private booth at the last minute. So they sat across each other, still a bit shaken. He set his phone down on the table absentmindedly and took a sip of water.

He decided he didn't like the way they were sitting. Not much. Not at all. The table between them was too large for him to be able to do anything like…

What, hold his hand?

He shook his head.

"Aomine-kun?"

"Yeah?" he responded automatically, snapping out of his thoughts.

The voice was quiet. "Did you not like the present I gave you?"

Aomine blinked. "What?"

"Did you not like the present I gave you?" Kuroko repeated, face carefully devoid of emotion as though he were asking about the weather.

"Of course I do. What are you talking about?" Aomine frowned, not comprehending. Something about Kuroko seemed a little off than what he remembered. "Oi, I know I've been asking this to you a lot today, but are you sure you're okay?"

Kuroko just pointed to his phone.

"Yeah, what about it?" Aomine's frown deepened. "What am I not getting here?"

Silence.

Oh.

OH.

Aomine sighed, knowing his cheeks were most likely tinged with pink by now. "You're talking about the charm."

Silence.

"Tch, Tetsu, when something bothers you, you should say it directly and honestly to me," Aomine murmured. He reached inside his shirt to pull out the necklace he was wearing. "There, are you happy?"

Kuroko looked stunned. "You're…wearing it? Why?"

"You're gonna make me explain everything?"

Nod.

At the utterly bemused expression, the widened blue eyes, Aomine couldn't help but chuckle. "It's the way I keep it safe. I wouldn't want to break something you've given me."

"That…" Kuroko turned away from him, light blue bangs hiding his eyes, even as Aomine could see the pink cheeks. "That's unfair, Aomine-kun…"

"Oh, speaking of which," Aomine reached into his jacket pocket, "I suppose I got you something."

He pulled out a small box and, instinctively, he threw it.

Damn, that was _not _the way he intended to give him a present.

Kuroko caught it just in time with his quick reflex, looking at Aomine blankly as he opened the box.

"It's not romantic at all, Aomine-kun…" Kuroko laughed in bewilderment at the wristbands. "It's not…"

"I know," Aomine started fidgeting with his phone. "In my defense, it took a long time to think of something…"

"Thank you," Kuroko smiled. Brightly. So brightly it hurt to see it.

And Aomine's heart literally skipped an entire beat.

The breath whooshed out of his lungs as he felt like someone had just punched him, rendering him incapable of taking in oxygen. It wasn't the first time he'd seen that kind of smile. But every time, it managed to leave him feeling stupid, unable to say or do anything other than gawk.

"Kuroko, you…"

"_Suki desu._"

* * *

**Author's Note: **MUAHAHAHA! Cliffhangers everywhere~

Gomenosai…

You can expect to see more updates when winter break comes around :) Sorry for the late update everyone! T3T

AND: Would you guys mind if I rated it higher? I'm thinking that it's becoming too sexual to be T but maybe not? I dunno…and I wanted to include *cough* smut *cough* later…

Anyway!

A little teaser for the next chapter…

_Chapter 8 – in which Kuroko's past catches up to him_

Stay tuned!

**Edit 12/3: **Hm...so I went back to read this chapter and I was surprised no one mentioned that I'd written "Chapter 8" and not "Chapter 6" but no worries...? LOL, maybe I'm just being a bit OCD.

Yeah, I meant _Chapter 6 - in which Kuroko's past catches up to him._

OTL. :P


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